The Eternal Slumber Party
by TheBlueVampireQueenofAbiland
Summary: Valerie gets an invitation to a slumber party. . . for ghosts. And the invite is from none other than Danny Phantom, so she can't turn it down. What could go wrong, right. . ? Special thanks to EpikalStorms, who got me off my butt and motivated me to get this story back up. Ending has been redone.
1. Chapter 1

I know, I know, I should be working on Misunderstandings and Warmhearted Wraith 2. However, I need people to do my polls in order for me to figure out what to do. So it's really not my fault. Also, this will kill yet another plot bunny.

**Disclaimer:** If you think I own DP, you are even more mentally challenged then me.

The Eternal Slumber Party

Valerie flew through the night sky. She glanced at the piece of paper she clutched in her hand, re-reading it.

_Val, meet me at the clock tower at eight tonight. Oh, and please don't bring any weapons. I just wanna talk! –DP_

Valerie had ignored the 'don't bring weapons' part, but she was totally meeting Phantom– for the last time. And Valerie's wish for him to be destroyed was tripled by the way the note had arrived. It had been slipped into Valerie's locker at school. That worried her. If Phantom knew enough to know her locker, what else did he know? Her family? Friends? How much more?

Valerie glanced up to see the clock tower filling her vision. She was going to run into it! She panicked, trying to stop herself, but the booster rockets wouldn't respond. She shut her eyes tightly, not wanting to see the impact. She waited to feel pain.

But all she felt was a tug on her arm. She looked around to see Phantom gripping her hand tightly. His green eyes shone as he pulled her back from the impact.

"Are you ok? You almost got crushed." He asked. Valerie was so shocked that he'd saved her that she could think of nothing to say other than, "Just a little distracted, thanks." Phantom nodded.

"Ok. I need to talk to you." He said.

"You already are."

Phantom blushed. _Ghosts can blush?_ "Ok, I suppose I am. Anyway, there's this big truce between all ghost kids tonight. And, well, I'm kinda new to this, but they invited me anyway. But what they also wanted me to do was invite you. Apparently you're the only teenage ghost hunter in. . . well, ever. So they said for me to invite you to this big party they're throwing."

Valerie blinked. "Like a date?"

Phantom turned bright red. "No!"

Valerie smirked. "So why are you still holding my hands?"

Phantom dropped her hands like they were on fire. He stuttered a couple times before Valerie decided to put him out of his misery. "It's ok. I'm just kidding."

"Good. 'Cuz I'm not interested."

"Neither am I."

"Good."

"Good."

Valerie looked at Phantom. "I don't suppose I get a choice about whether I go or not?"

Phantom looked away. "Don't shoot the messenger, but I think if you say no, everyone's going to come kick your butt."

Valerie sighed. "And how do you know this?"

Phantom smirked. "Last Christmas, this ghost called the Ghostwriter decided to mess with me. Well, I say mess with, but really he used this magic keyboard to change reality. Everyone was talking in rhyme." He shuddered. "So annoying. Anyway, I told everyone he had broken the christmas truce, so. . . well, I think the exact wording went something like this: 'I'm trapped in his poem! The guy's off his nut!' 'He should really know better.' 'Let's go kick his butt!'"

Valerie noticed Phantom was steering her through the air, one hand on her back. She wondered where they were going, but she had other questions, too.

"If he could alter reality, why didn't he nullify the truce?"

Phantom grinned. "Actually, he did. We made it to his lair before he started writing battle scenes. But then, guess what I did?" Valerie shrugged. She had no clue. "I hit Walker with an orange. The ghostwriter was feeling really smug until he realized that nothing rhymes with orange." Phantom imitated a hunched over figure feverishly hunt-and-peck typing. He used a husky voice in an impression of an older ghost. "He picked up an orange, and- ah, dang it, nothing rhymes with orange!"

Valerie giggled. Phantom smiled at her. "So then we threw him in jail." He sighed. "Fun times."

They stopped right in front of Casper High. "What're we doing here?" Valerie asked.

"Well, if my watch is right," Phantom glanced at his wrist, pressing a button that made the face of his watch glow, "Then there will be a portal opening- now."

A green flash lit up the building, and then a swirling green vortex appeared. Phantom offered her his hand. "Ready?"

Valerie took a deep breath. "Yeah."

They entered the portal, and it closed swiftly behind them.

**Me: **Ok, I'm so evil for writing this! I really shouldn't be starting another chapter fanfic when I can't handle the other two I'm doing. But if you wanna complain, I'm just gonna say that I can't write more on my other stories because NO ONE DID MY POLLS YET!

Hint, Hint. I'm not posting more until I've got some votes on my polls.

**Valerie:** Wait! Don't go! I wanna know what happens!

**Me:** Well, I mean it this time.

**Valerie:** Like all those other times you meant it about the 25 reviews?

**Me:** Hey, don't mock me or I'll make you kiss Youngblood at that party.

**Valerie:** . . .

**Me:** Ha. That shut her up.


	2. Chapter 2

I know I said I was gonna be waiting for votes in my polls, but I'm a creature of habit. Tee-hee! It's a slumber party! Everyone has to stay there all night! Danny and Valerie, trapped in the same space. I think maybe some secrets could get trashed. . . also, for those of you who think Valerie was a little OOC in the last chapter, the explanation is right in the first paragraph.

**Disclaimer:** All I own is the slumber party! (and, god, is that a good slumber party)

The Eternal Slumber Party

Valerie gasped. It was the second time she'd been in the ghost zone, and it still amazed her. Everything was green and purple, and doors drifted through the air. Valerie made a sudden decision to trust Phantom, however temporarily. The ghost zone was full of ghosts that hated Valerie, and since the portal was closed behind them, there was no going back. Plus, it might be a good way to learn Phantom's weaknesses. Valerie decided to play the same card she had with Tucker when she just started ghosthunting: the 'hopelessly in love' card. Valerie watched, so taken in by the display that she didn't notice the ecto-blast until it was too late.

The shot flew towards her, straight at her heart. She dove to the side, but collided with Phantom. She wound up clinging to him, sure that she was about to die. She buried her face in his shoulder and clamped her eyes shut for the second time that day. For the second time, she braced for impact.

For the second time, it didn't come. She opened her eyes and could see the white of Phantom's collar. She lifted her head and saw that they were surrounded by a wall of green light. A shield. Phantom glanced down at her.

"You can let go, now." He said. Valerie released her grip, embarrassed. She could feel her cheeks heating up, turning red. She gently let go. Danny flung her away from him. _Oh, so now he avoids me like the plague_. She thought, hurt. Then she noticed another ecto-blast filling the space she had recently occupied. _Oh, that's why_. She was no longer clinging to Phantom, but that also meant that she was falling, fast. Phantom shot down and caught her, bridal style. They both turned to look at the ghost shooting at them.

"I'm back, Punk." Said the ghost. He was a tall, skeletal figure wearing a white detective outfit.

"Hi, Walker." Phantom said. Then he smirked. "You know the Eternal Slumber Party's tonight, don't you?"

Walker blinked. "Uh, no, I didn't. Lemmie see what my jurisdiction is. . . should be in the 'rules'." The ghost pulled out a big booklet labeled 'RULES'. Phantom looked down at Valerie. "You can use your hover-board, right?"

Valerie face palmed. She jumped out of Phantom's arms and summoned her board. Phantom few over and looked over Walker's shoulder.

"See, there it is." He said, pointing. "Right there, under 'instances when you have no jurisdiction unless you want a lot of pain'."

Walker turned even paler, if that was possible. He hastily backed up from Phantom. "Sooo sorry, must've slipped my mind. Uh. . . please don't tell the Eternal Slumber Party on me!" The ghost sped away. Phantom smiled. He turned to see a puzzled Valerie staring at him.

"We've pretty much got immunity today. If other ghosts hurt us, the entire child force of the ghost zone beats up the individual in question. So you can stop pretending to be nice to me, I'm not your only lifeline."

Valerie blushed. He'd noticed she was faking it. That was just embarrassing. "Alright, ghost. Which way to this 'Eternal Slumber Party'?"

Phantom smiled. "This way. We're holding it in Vlad's mansion."

Valerie blinked. "Vlad _Masters?!"_ She yelled.

"Uh. . ." Phantom looked frantic. He was searching for a plausible explanation, and Valerie suddenly realized she hadn't told him she knew about Vlad being half ghost.

"It's ok, I know about him being Plasmius, but why _his_ mansion? Was he ok with that?"

Phantom hid his grin behind his hand. "He didn't really have a choice. When an entire ghost zone of kids show up at your front door and demand a place to throw a party, you say yes without an argument. Plus it was the only place big enough." A dreamy look came into Phantom's eyes. "And he's got a giant surround-sound TV with a variety of movies that haven't come out yet. _And_ he's buying snacks. And pizza. _Lots_ of snacks and pizza."

"Uh, if we're going to Vlad's mansion, why're we heading through the ghost zone, Phantom?"

"Vlad's got a ghost portal. We all know where. It's faster than going through the real world." Phantom stopped flying. "Ok, now guess where the portal is." Valerie glanced around. Door made of purple steel, door made of purple wood, door made of purple glass, giant. . . what?

"Behind the giant purple football?" Valerie guessed. Phantom smiled. "Yeah. That's Vlad. Subtle as a flying mallet." He shoved the football aside and revealed a glowing green portal. He poked his head through. It was weird seeing him like that. She could sort of see a blurry outline of his head, and hear his voice like it was miles underground in an underwater cave, but it was sort of distant."We're here." He said. Or, she thought he said that. It was hard to tell.

Two hands, one gloved, one not, reached out of the portal and grabbed Danny's shoulders. He pulled his head out and yelped before being pulled into the portal. Valerie turned her board around, ready to fly away, but something shot out of the portal and caught her ankle. She was pulled through the portal. She caught a glimpse of green and gold before she was shoved down into the carpet.

"Don't move." A voice whispered in her ear.

**Me: **Yeah, I'm evil. But I really like that chapter, especially the image of aalll the kid ghosts showing up on Vlad's doorstep, smiling broadly and demanding snacks.

**Vlad:** I didn't find it that funny.

**Me:** Aw, c'mon stuffy-pants. That look of complete horror was funny! Especially the twitching eye. I've already got lots of likes for it.

**Vlad:** Wait. . . what?

**Me:** I didn't tell you? I posted it on Youtube, along with the video of you running from the Vlad Annoyer.

**Vlad:** THAT'S what you named it?

**Me:** Yes. I tire of your tediousness. Ninjas, take him away.

**Vlad:** PLEASE REVIEW QUICKLY SO I CAN GET MY MANSION BACK.

**Me: **Or you can review if you want to see- *waits until Vlad is out of earshot before whispering*- _the 'Vlad Contest'. Don't tell Vlad or he'll run away_.

**Valerie:** Or you can review so you can find out what happens to me and so I can take my head out of this carpet.

**Me:** Pah. My readers care nothing for you, they just wanna see Vlad get creamed.


	3. Chapter 3

So, what happens to Val? Let's find out!

**Disclaimer:** I just own the story, none of the characters. Except for a couple. Maybe. I'm confusing you, aren't I?

The Eternal Slumber Party

_Phantom lead me into a trap! _Was Valerie's first thought. Then she felt her head being pulled up from the floor, and she found herself seeing a confusing scene. Ember was holding Phantom down on the floor, but she had yanked his head up and was whispering fiercely to him. She had some neon orange smears under her eyes, and she seemed agitated.

"Oh, sure, announce your presence to the whole world, why don't you, dipstick. We'll loose our edge if you keep that up!"

"Edge?" Valerie whispered. She didn't know why she whispered it, she just knew that the whispering was infecting her. Her head was yanked up higher, and she found herself looking into the eyes of an upside down Youngblood.

"Cool! It's the Red Huntress!" He whispered. He jumped off her and grabbed a can of orange face paint. He dipped his finger in and began putting streaks below her eyes and whispering fervently. "Listen, you're on out team now. The orange team. We've got more members, but they're back at base. Now, listen, if you get hit, you're out until the person who hit you is out."

Valerie blinked, feeling the cool paint spreading below her eyes. Youngblood got a little on her eyelashes and Valerie reached up and wiped it off. "What are you talking about, ghost?"

"The Vlad Contest! Duh! Whoever wins gets to egg Vlad!" Youngblood handed her a water gun. "Here's your weapon. We're ambushing the blue team!"

Phantom was sitting up now, orange streaks and all, and he held the water gun like it was a bazooka. Valerie now noticed that they were crouched behind an overturned couch. She put her back against it and Phantom followed suit. He glanced at her.

"Temporary truce?" He asked, sticking out his hand. Valerie looked at him for a few seconds before taking it and shaking firmly.

"Temporary truce." She answered.

Then they leaped out from behind the couch and screamed loudly as they shot at the enemy ghosts.

**Me: **You know, this is such a perfect ending I couldn't bear to waste it. Plus, violent battle scenes take time to write, so be happy I decided to post this much now instead of making you wait. Sorry it's short, but the next one will be longer. I'm happy about all the damage they will surely do. I can't imagine Vlad is too happy about them trashing his mansion though. . .

**Danny:** I'm happy about it, though.

**Me: ** No one asked you! Now get back in the story!

**Danny: **Aw. . .


	4. Chapter 4

As promised, violent battle scene coming up. I'm so happy about it. Finally, some real damage.

**Disclaimer:** I only own the violent battle scene!

The Eternal Slumber Party

Valerie took in the scene faster then the eye could blink. Five ghosts to the right, only two she recognized, Kitty and Johnny 13. Three others she couldn't place. One ghost floating to the left, a bit slow, was the box ghost. All with blue streaks marking them as enemies. Valerie immediately gave the trigger of her gun a three second squeeze, targeting the box ghost. The water smacked him in the chest, but Valerie had already turned to the right and only caught it out of the corner of her eye.

Phantom shot at Kitty, and she dived to the ground to avoid being hit. Valerie saw Johnny raising his water gun, aiming at Phantom. At the same time, Phantom's blast hit the ghost behind Kitty, taking to total threat from six to four. Valerie pushed the trigger continuously, jerking it from right below the first ghost to just above Johnny. The resulting fan of water hit all but one of the ghosts, the one in the back. The ghost, a girl with long, dark hair, shot at Phantom, hitting him in the head. The ghost yelled in triumph, but before Phantom could go down Valerie shot the offending ghost girl. The girl sat down but the one in front stood back up. Even if Phantom had only been down a second, the people he'd hit could still get up. Valerie remedied that by shooting the unnamed ghost again. Now thoroughly wet, the ghost slumped back down.

"Thanks." Phantom said to Valerie.

"Don't mention it." She replied, then saw Ember hurtling towards them, victim of a powerful water blast. "Seriously, don't mention it. Just duck!" Valerie grabbed his collar and yanked him down behind the couch, the waterlogged Ember flying over their heads, just nicking the ends of Phantom's hair. Ember crashed into the wall, her flaming hair dimming and shrinking before bursting back into full flare.

"Who hit you, Ember?" Phantom hissed, glancing over the edge of the couch.

"Spectra." Ember spluttered, spitting water. Phantom looked at her funny.

"Spectra? She's not a kid."

Ember sighed. "She's doing marriage counseling. That was enough misery to get her to a teenage state. She's about thirteen, so we had to let her in."

Phantom scowled. "Remind me to kick her butt later for setting foot in Amity Park." He commented to Valerie. Valerie just blinked, confused. Wasn't the school councilor's name Spectra? Well, before she quit. And what was that about misery?

"What do you mean by-" Valerie began, but Phantom cut her off. "No time. Charge!"

Phantom vaulted over the couch, doing a summersault through the air and landing square on his feet. A shot of water came from around the corner, targeting Phantom. Valerie leaped, doing a handspring and pushing the couch onto it's corner. She twisted, and spun the couch like a top, just barely keeping her balance. She flipped, pushing the overbalanced piece of furniture in front of Phantom. She landed in a crouch, snapping her head up just as the water hit the couch. It teetered on the edge for a moment, before plopping down, small end to the ground. Phantom glanced up.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Valerie shot to the edge of the room, flattening herself against the wall. She peeked around the corner, and saw her guidance councilor. . . or what her guidance councilor would look like if she was thirteen. She was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans rather than her usual business suit. And under her eyes. . .

"Green streaks." Valerie whispered to Danny. "Another team."

Spectra shot out of the hallway. She passed right by Valerie, not even noticing She walked, step by step, over to the couch where Danny was hiding.

"Come on out, Phantom." She said.

Valerie noticed Youngblood stepping out from behind a coffee table. He glanced at her and silently pointed at Spectra. Valerie nodded and held up three fingers. Then two. Then one. Then she mouthed the word 'go'.

Youngblood dashed forwards, yelling. _What is with kids screaming at the top of their lungs in these fights?_ Valerie wondered. Then she jumped into battle, shouting loudly. She shot, almost nailing Spectra, but she pulled up her water gun and blocked the spray with it. Youngblood floated right up to Spectra and stuck his tongue out at her. Spectra didn't bat an eye. Youngblood sighed and shot her full in the face.

"Teenager, maybe. Age-wise. But an actual _kid?_ I don't think so." He said.

Valerie looked at him, confused. Now that the danger was gone, she could ask about the things that were bothering her. And, boy, did she intend to.

"What do you mean? Why can't she see you?"

Phantom poked his head out from behind the couch. "Lemmie explain. Spectra gets her power from people being miserable, and she uses the misery to become younger. Youngblood, here-" Phantom pointed at Youngblood, who gave an exaggerated bow, "Can only be seen by the young. Or, you could be less literal and say that he can only be seen by kids. Spectra may look thirteen now, but she's still an adult at heart. Thus, she can't see Youngblood."

Valerie nodded. It made sense. But Phantom kept going, oblivious to the fact that she got it already.

"He had everyone thinking I was going crazy by only showing up when there were no other kids around."

Youngblood sniggered. "He was all like, 'I'm not crazy!', and then I'd poke him, and he'd go like, 'And will you quit poking me!', and everyone would stare at him."

Phantom smirked. "And I still beat you."

Youngblood pouted. "You cheated."

"Convincing Jazz to act her age is not cheating. It's simply calling in backup."

Valerie was confused again. "Wait. . . Jazz?" She felt her natural distrust of Phantom returning. Jazz was Danny's older sister. Was phantom trying to get at Valerie through the Fentons?

Phantom didn't notice the suspicious look she shot at him, still talking. "Yeah, Jazz. The Fenton's kid. She was on a camping trip, I was chasing Pee-Wee here, we kinda met up halfway through the wilderness. She couldn't see him, and-"

Valerie could see that the facts weren't fitting up. She quickly interrupted him. "But you said all kids could see him. Why couldn't she?" Valerie watched Phantom's face for signs that he was fibbing, but found none as he explained.

"Yeah, Jazz _is_ a kid, but she doesn't _think_ she's a kid. Have you heard her talk?" Phantom began a pitch-perfect imitation of Jazz. "'I'm sixteen. Physically. But mentally, I'm an adult.' Honestly, it was no wonder she couldn't see him."

Valerie nodded, but something else began bothering her. "How did you get her to see him?"

Phantom's smirk grew. "I annoyed her into throwing a temper tantrum. Then we both beat up Youngblood." Phantom widened his eyes and imitated Youngblood. "'It's not like you can stick me in jail, or something'. 'Actually, it's exactly like I can stick you in jail, or something'."

Youngblood glared. "Why you-"

"'Don't call me kid! I'm mature beyond me years! Thbbt'!" Youngblood let out a little scream and chased after Phantom, running around and around the couch.

"I can't imagine how you possibly got Jazz to throw a temper tantrum." Valerie said dryly.

**Me:** Ha-ha! LOL! Youngblood is ticked!

**Youngblood:** That's not funny!

**Me:** Yeah it is.

**Youngblood:** Is not.

**Me:** Is too.

**Youngblood:** Is not.

**Me:** Is too.

**Youngblood:** Is not.

**Me:** Is too.

**Youngblood:** I'll admit it's funny if you hurry up on the chapter where I cream Phantom.

**Me: **You can't. There's a truce on.

**Youngblood:** Aw man! Hey. . . wait a minute. *gets evil smile* Can you get rid of the truce for me?

**Me:** No. I also can't get right on the next chapter, because I got enough votes to write the next chapter of Misunderstandings. No votes for my other poll, though. The one about Warmhearted Wraith 2.

**Youngblood: **You can't really complain about that. That poll wasn't up 'cuz the other one was.

**Me:** Go away or I'll make you kiss Valerie in the next chapter.

**Youngblood:** Oh no! COOTIES! *runs away*

**Me:** Wow, that threat works on both of them!


	5. Chapter 5

Ok, some of you may wonder why team orange hasn't been ambushed yet. There is a reason for that. You will find out. Just read the chapter already!

**Disclaimer:** If you think I own DP, I'll send the entire population of the Eternal Party to egg you. No joke. I will.

The Eternal Slumber Party

Ember grabbed Youngblood my the foot and Phantom by the arm. She swung them around so that they faced her, Youngblood upside down, Phantom sideways. She looked them both square in the eyes in a way that made Valerie envious of the sheer power on display, then said, in a calm, measured tone, "Would you two dipsticks rather goof off, or would you rather go egg Vlad?"

Phantom looked at her funny. "We won?"

Ember smirked, dropping both ghosts. "Heck, yeah, we did. Those ghosts were the only enemies left. You and Red arriving gave us the edge we needed."

Valerie raised her eyebrows. "Red?" She asked. She'd been here, what, _five minutes_ and she _already_ had a nickname?

Ember raised her eyebrows right back. "You want me to keep calling you the Red Huntress, baby-pop? Takes too long."

Phantom snorted from his facedown position on the floor. "Oh, sure. 'Red Huntress' takes too long to say, but calling me 'dipstick' instead of Danny is perfectly fine."

Ember kicked him in the side. "You're the only one who I call that, _dipstick_."

"I feel so loved. _Well_, loved and in pain."

Valerie raised her eyebrows at Ember. "Didn't that just violate the truce?" She asked.

Ember rolled her eyes. "He's had worse."

Phantom scowled. "Oh, how comforting. Newsflash, Ember, just because I've 'had worse' doesn't make it pleasant."

Ember kicked him again. "Are you going to get up or will I have to drag you to base?"

"That depends, I think you just broke my ribs." Phantom sat up, wincing. He gingerly touched his side. "Never mind. Not broken, just bruised."

Valerie looked at him. How would he know about broken ribs? It wasn't like he'd broken any. . . right? _Figure out his weaknesses!_ Her ghosthunter side screamed. So Valerie asked her question. "How would you know if your ribs are broken? You've never broken any." Valerie winced at the way her words sounded. Now she just seemed insensitive.

Phantom looked at her as he stood up. "Actually, I _have_ broken them before. I think the last time was when you ambushed me a few weeks ago."

Now Valerie felt worse. She'd always assumed he'd flown off from those fights unscathed. It fit better with her 'evil ghost' classification, but it looked like she was the only one getting off scott-free.

_Stop it,_ She thought. _He's messing with your mind. He just wants to get your guard down_.

"Where's base?" She asked. Ember raised her eyebrows.

"We don't need to go to base. I'd imagine that most of the people are already on their way. One in particular is very anxious to see you. Oh, look, they're here."

Valerie turned to ask what she meant when she was bowled over by an unstoppable force.

_Oh no,_ She thought. _Someone is too angry with me to wait until after the truce is over to waste me! They'll get wasted too, but I'll still be dead!_

Valerie braced for impact for the third time that day. This time, she felt it come. All the air rushed from her lungs as she was placed in an ever-tightening grip. Nobody rushed to help her. All she could see through her blurry eyes was Ember's smirk.

**Me:** Ok, that chapter was short and that cliffy was a little unfair. Sue me. Some of you are going to pick my story apart now to try to figure out what's going on and make it a non-cliffy. Who cares?

**Valerie:** Um. . . I. . . kinda. . . do. . . please. . . review. . . before. . . I. . . pass. . . out. . .

**Me:** Or because you wanna see Vlad get creamed, finally. Yes, it will happen.


	6. Chapter 6

People, who the heck told you it was Dani? Whoever it is, they're now on my list of people to hunt down and mercilessly tickle. How dare they tell everyone!

Or am I just predictable?

**Disclaimer:** Don't say I own DP or I'll add you to my list of people to hunt down and mercilessly tickle. (it's a long list)

The Eternal Slumber Party

Suddenly, the crushing force was lifted. Valerie gasped, taking in air. Her vision became sharp enough to see Phantom dangling Dani three feet off the ground by the back of her shirt.

"Dani, enough with the hugging! She can't breathe!" He berated her.

Ember's smirk widened. "You just got pwned by a ten-year old. Niiice. . ."

Valerie flushed. "You could've warned me! Besides, it's a truce!"

Any reply Ember could've chosen to say was drowned out by Dani's cry of, "Va- uh, Red! Hi!" Phantom dropped Dani and she shot over to hug Valerie. Valerie blinked. The ghost girl had stopped herself from revealing her identity, and now Valerie felt the feeling of a moment before returning to her: guilt. Dani was self-conscious enough to protect Valerie's secret, why hadn't Valerie been self-conscious enough to protect Dani? If she hadn't turned her over to Vlad, she wouldn't have been almost destroyed.

"I've never forgotten how you rescued me! Thank you so much!" Dani smiled up at Valerie, unaware that if it hadn't been for Phantom, Valerie would've left her at Vlad's mercy. It was official: Valerie felt lower than dirt now. How could Dani be so trusting after all that had happened to her in her life? Valerie certainly wasn't.

Valerie was interrupted by a slight cough from Phantom. "What, no hug for me?" He asked. Dani then tackled him to the ground, grinning. "Hey!" He yelped.

"There is no escape!" Dani shouted, then began to tickle Phantom. He shook with laughter, trying to shove at Dani. "No! Stop! You're- I can't- gah!"

Ember stood next to Valerie, smiling at Phantom's discomfort. "Jeez, they're just like siblings."

Valerie blinked and looked over at her. She was pretty observant. "Yeah, they're pretty close for cousins."

Ember raised her eyebrows at Valerie. "You really buy that?" She asked. Valerie raised her eyebrows too, confused and surprised.

"They aren't?"

Ember chuckled quietly. "They _say_ they are, but they look too similar and sound too alike. We've got a bet running how they're really related. My guess? He's her dad."

Valerie tried hard not to hurl. "But you said she's ten. Phantom couldn't be-"

"Ghosts don't age like humans, Red, if they age _at all_. I wouldn't be surprised if she was _born_ at age ten."

Valerie was about to say that Phantom didn't sound like the 'dad' type when she noticed the giggling and shrieking had stopped. She glanced over and saw Phantom and Dani looking at her curiously.

"What're you talking about?" Dani asked.

"Nothing!" Valerie said.

"The let's go egg Vlad."

LINE BREAK

Vlad Masters was having the worst day of his life. The love of his life hadn't returned any of his calls, the bane of his existence, Jack, had invented an annoying little device that kept shocking him, He had to stay in his ghost form so no _other_ child ghosts would try to attack him, Daniel _still_ wouldn't join him, and a large group of youngsters had commandeered his mansion and demanded all sorts of unhealthy junk foods. Even now, they were trashing his mansion for the sake of a _water gun fight_. Tables overturned, pillows tossed like bombs, carpets soaked, and all of his carefully arranged easy chairs strewn about like victims of a nuclear missile. _Einstein didn't need the atomic bomb,_ Vlad thought, depressed._ All he needed was a truckload of sugar-high children_.

Vlad bent down to pick up a book when he felt something hard hit his back and pop open with a sickening smack. He straightened up and spun around. Nothing there. Vlad felt the cold slime dripping down his back. He reached around and touched it.

_Egg yolk? What in the name of. . ?_

Then Vlad realized his beginner's mistake. He had neglected to look up. In the slow motion of a man who knows his life has been converted to a horror movie, Vlad looked over his head.

Valerie cheerfully waved down at him before lobbing another egg right at his face. Vlad ducked and the egg hit his shoulder. Why, oh why had he stayed in ghost form? Valerie would never throw eggs at Masters, her hero. Ah, well, too late now.

Vlad spun around to run, and Ember shot out of the floor. She held a crate of eggs in her hands. Vlad turned, only to see Youngblood, Danielle, and Daniel each with a crate of their own. Their smiles were wicked.

"Now, children, let's be reasonable-" Vlad began, but was cut off by Danielle.

"Sorry, we don't _do_ reasonable. C'mon guys!" She yelled. "It's payback time!"

**Me: **Ok, who can totally picture that?

**Vlad:** Oh, I can, because it's happening to me.

**Me:** Ah, shuddap, Vlad. It was almost fun to write your stuffed-up personal writing style. REVIEW!


	7. Chapter 7

You know, the only reason I'm writing so much today is that I managed to convince my mom to let me bring her laptop in the car with me while we drop my brother off at boy scout camp. A whole week with only 2/3 of my brothers! YES!

**Disclaimer:** My brother owns DP, but since he's going to be gone for a week, I guess I _don't_ own DP. So stop bugging me! Also, there are some OCs that I _do_ own, but please refrain from asking which is which. Or I'll add you to my list of people to mercilessly tickle.

The Eternal Slumber Party

Valerie collapsed on the overturned couch, grinning and laughing and trying not to barf from happiness. The couch tipped back into it's normal position and Valerie felt the world tip too before she slid off onto a pile of throw pillows. She didn't feel it. She was too busy sniggering. A small, chilly body plopped on top of her, shaking with giggles. Danielle. Valerie lifted her head, glancing at the glowing girl. Dani looked right back at her, smirking.

"Did you see when- and he- with the-" Dani began several sentences before finally collapsing back over Valerie's legs. The sight of Dani's face as it slowly became redder and redder was enough to send Valerie into hysterics. Dani choked on her own chuckles and began to cough. She twitched, and Valerie watched as two gloved hands scooped her up.

Phantom held Dani tightly and tucked her over his shoulder. He thumped her hard on the back a couple times and Dani hiccuped before sighing and ceasing to cough. Phantom gave Valerie a glare that reminded her of her father.

"See what happens when I let her play with other kids?" He griped, acting like a father. A slight smirk that he couldn't fully conceal clued Valerie into the fact that he was joking. "I leave her alone for five minutes and what does she do? She finds a fruitloop and eggs him!" Phantom casually gave Dani a noogie. "Maybe we really _are_ related."

Valerie giggled, not because it was funny, but because her laugh track was broken and she would have giggled at anything. Ember glanced up from the couch, listening intently, and Valerie remembered the bet. Ember was probably hoping that Phantom would reveal his real relationship to the ghost girl. _I wonder if I want to know too,_ Valerie thought. _Do I really want to learn the truth?_

Valerie was spared having to answer her own question when Phantom asked one of his own. "Ok, so, now what?"

Youngblood grinned. "Now we watch a movie while Vlad picks up, so we have something to do before we can make a mess."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah, he'll pick up just so we can trash the place _again_."

Ember smiled. "Ah, but that's where the adult syndrome kicks in."

"Adult syndrome?" Valerie said. For a moment, she thought her voice was echoing, but then she noticed that Phantom and Dani had asked the same question, at the same time.

"Jinx!" Dani yelped. Phantom scowled. Valerie just rolled her eyes.

Ember continued. "Yeah, adult syndrome. All adults assume that they're smarter than children, even ghosts, and because of this, they let their guard down."

Youngblood continued. "That means that if we all slump down in front of a TV, Vlad'll think we're stupid enough to stay in there all evening."

Dani nodded. "Like Vlad thought I was stupid enough to keep fighting with Danny."

Phantom grinned. "Ha! You said my name! I can talk now!"

Dani pouted, then brightened. "Oh, well, it's not like. . . uh, _she_ can talk yet." She said, nodding toward's Valerie. Valerie became annoyed and tried to speak, only to find Youngblood's hand in front of her mouth.

"You gotta follow the Jinx rules, Red!" He managed to smirk while talking.

Valerie just licked his hand, causing him to pull back with a yelp.

"Hey!"

Valerie smiled sweetly. "Thank you for saying my name." Youngblood fumed.

"So what're we watching?" Dani asked. Then she jumped out of Phantom's arms and began bouncing up and down on the couch. "Oh! Oh! How about Doctor Who?"

Valerie glanced at her, eyebrows raised. "Doctor Who?"

Dani nodded. "Doctor Who! It's cool, but creepy."

"So said the ghost girl to the ghosthunter."

"Good point."

Ember interrupted. "We can't choose yet. We're the only ones here."

"That's the point!" Youngblood announced.

Ember sighed. "Last time we chose the movie without the others, Deluge trashed the television, Static killed the remote, and Klemper accidentally froze half of the kids."

"So? that was fun!"

"Yeah, because you weren't the one frozen!"

"Who cares? We got you out!"

"By stacking us on top of the stove!"

"What's wrong with that?"

"My feet were on fire for five minutes before the rest of the ice melted, that's what, dipstick!"

There was a quiet cough, and Ember turned around, hair flaring five feet high. She finally seemed to notice that there was a large group of child ghosts watching her.

"Ok, we can choose what to watch now."

Valerie glanced around, realizing that she only knew a fraction of the ghosts there. One unrecognizable ghost seemed to reach the same conclusion, and he decided to voice it. "Ok, sure, but first of all, who's the girl who's still alive?"

Ember apparently decided that Valerie couldn't answer for herself, so she answered for her. "This is the Red Huntress."

The ghost guy blinked. "Really? Last I saw, she was still in that red rubber monstrosity with no breathing holes."

"I upgraded." Valerie said, beating Ember to it.

The guy's mouth twitched into a smile. Valerie took some time to study his features. He had blonde hair that stuck up like gravity had reversed on it, and his eyes were electric blue. He was wearing jeans and a blue tee-shirt and a small blue gem traced in gold graced his earlobe. He stuck out his hand. "My name's Static, but you can call me Snap."

Valerie took his hand and instantly regretted it. She felt a little static before hearing something crackle. She felt something snap. Valerie glanced down and almost screamed. His hand was black and burned, like a piece of charcoal.

"Oh! Sorry." Static said, pulling his hand back. He shoved it into his pocket in a movement that seemed practiced, as if he got this reaction a lot. At Valerie's questioning glance, he looked down and bean to mutter. "I was electrocuted. Hence the name Static."

Valerie shrugged. "It's ok. It's not your fault."

Static looked up. "You mean it? Most humans freak out."

Valerie tried to keep from smiling. "It just surprised me, that's all. It's not like you did it on purpose or something." Static smiled back at her and Valerie couldn't shake the feeling that she'd made a new friend.

_What are you thinking! By tomorrow, you'll be shooting at him and he'll be shooting back!_ Screamed her practical side. But if Valerie was being honest, it was really the side of her that didn't want to be hurt by a ghost's betrayal. Static was _dead_, and the simple truth was that Valerie _wasn't_.

A girl stepped up and coughed into her fist to get attention. The very first thing that Valerie noticed was that the cough sent water splashing on the back of her hand. The second thing was that the girl's skin was blue, as were her eyes. The whites, or what should have been white, was a pale teal color. Her long black hair floated around her head like she was underwater, and every movement sent it flowing and tumbling in a new direction.

"Deluge." The girl said by way of introduction. She didn't reach to shake though, because she was too busy trying to get the water off her hand.

"Drowned?" Valerie asked. Deluge nodded.

"Obvious, isn't it?" She asked. "What tipped you off? The water?"

Ghosts started yelling out their names. "Stifle!"

"Crash!"

"Drag!"

"Press!"

"Fall!"

Valerie wondered if Phantom was the only one to have kept his human name. It added depth to a person she'd once thought two-dimensional. It made her wonder. . .

**Me:** I think that's enough soul searching for now.

**Valerie:** I don't. Keep writing.

**Me:** I don't think so. This is way longer than I was gonna make it to begin with, so be happy with what you have. Also, who thinks that Valerie should make a passing comment about Danny being Dani's dad and have him flip?

**Danny:** Not me.

**Me:** You don't count.

**Danny:** Why not? Because I'm bad at math?

**Me:** That pun was awful.

**Danny:** So was that one about 'soul searching'. That one was nasty.

**Me:** _cough_ninjas_cough_

**Danny:** That's blackmail!


	8. Chapter 8

Picked up my brother. . . _sigh_. . . I'm writing this on the way back home. It's about 8:30 now. Not the best time to be writing. I'm probably going to make a lot of mistakes, so just bear with me.

**Disclaimer:** Brother #1's back, but he won't share DP with me, so I don't own DP.

The Eternal Slumber Party

Valerie stared, aghast, at the black screen. Phantom was crouching, eyes clenched shut, his one hand slipping from the disk. He seemed to be trying to hold back tears.

"Wow. . ." Dusk breathed. "I've never seen anything like it. . ."

"Me nether." Clavier murmured.

Valerie was about to agree when Ember snorted. "So he died in a lab accident. What else is new? And I don't see him dying _twice_."

"Listen, Ember." Dani snapped. "How would you feel if we said it was stupid to get hit by a drunk driver?"

Ember's eyes became slits. "How did you know that? _Nobody_ knows that."

Dani just smiled. "It's not too hard to figure out."

"Well, your dipstick of a father didn't die well either! Phantom died because of his own _stupidity_." Ember snapped.

Finally, Phantom looked up. "Her _father?_" He asked, his face twisting into a mask of confusion and dawning realization. Valerie sighed at Ember, seeing her face turn red. She decided it was time to explain exactly how they'd figured out his secret.

"There's a bet going on about exactly how you two are related."

"And Ember bet that I'm her _father?_"

Valerie nodded. Phantom blinked a couple times, then glanced at Dani. Their eyes locked for just a few seconds before Phantom doubled over and began shaking silently.

_Is he crying?_ Valerie wondered. Then Dani's head banged against her shoulder and she glanced over at the ghost girl. Dani was also shaking, but unlike Phantom she had not doubled over. In fact, her face was quite clear as she twitched and writhed on the couch, shuddering. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she looked as if couldn't breathe. Danielle Phantom was laughing so hard, she was crying.

Phantom sat up. "You thought I was her _dad? _I though for sure that after earlier tonight you'd have figured it out."

"Figured what out?" Ember asked, looking ticked off to be left out of what seemed to be a private joke.

Dani's laughter finally came through loudly. "You thought he was my _dad!_"

"Do I look like the 'dad' type to you?" Phantom asked Ember.

"Well, it happens." Ember muttered, obviously embarrassed.

"Anyway, Dani's twelve. I'm fourteen. How does that work?"

Ember scowled. "Anyway, I still wanna see you die twice."

Clavier interrupted her. "Wait a minute, If he's not her dad-" Dusk raised her eyebrows at Clavier and she blushed before continuing. "I didn't say I thought he was! Anyway, if he _isn't_, then how _is_ he related to her?"

Dani just smiled. "I'm his clone."

Valerie stared at Dani, eyes wide, trying to comprehend what she had just said. His clone? How? She was a girl! How on earth-

"Yes!" A voice brought her thoughts to a train-crashing halt. It was Youngblood, and he seemed overjoyed. "I win!"

Valerie looked at him. "Um, how did you guess?"

Youngblood beamed. "I just said, 'They look so similar, it's like they're clones!', and everyone laughed at me. So I bet that they were. And I was right!"

Dani giggled, her mirth still not gone. "Only you would guess that, and only you would be right." She paused. "How much do they owe you?"

Youngblood grinned. "I'd tell you, but they'd probably try to kill me _again_ if I did."

Valerie let her questions burst out. "How does that work? You're a girl!"

Dani shrugged, grinning. "I said clone, I never said _successful_ clone."

"How can a clone _fail?_" Valerie asked, exasperated.

"Vlad was the one who created me. That help?"

Dusk made a face, one that was briefly lit up as she said, "_Vlad_ cloned Danny?"

"The fruitloop." Clavier rolled her eyes.

"I'd say this calls for another prank, don't you?" Valerie asked, smirking.

"Oh, yeah." Ember said, cheering up for the first time since she'd realized she'd lost the bet. "I've got just the plan. . ."

LINE BREAK

Vlad sighed as he straightened the last picture that the crazed teens had knocked over. He was still covered with eggs, something that annoyed him to no end. They must have had some kind of ectoplasmic residue in them, because whenever he tried to phase through them they just went intangible too. They were hardening on his cape and there was nothing he could do about it.

Vlad scowled as he noticed a green ectoplasm stain on the floor. All of his ghostly assistants had fled when they discovered where the ESP was being held, so it looked as if he would have to clean it up himself.

Vlad stepped over to the sink and found a sponge. He wrung out the old water and reached for the facet handle. He turned it, only at the last moment noticing the odd pickling sensation that people get when something isn't right. . .

LINE BREAK

Vlad's scream was heard all the way in the lounge, and a moment later Dani, Phantom, Ember, Youngblood, Valerie, Dusk, Clavier, Static, and Deluge burst into the room giggling.

"Did you see his face?" Dani squeaked.

Phantom couldn't find the air to reply and just nodded.

_Which is weird,_ Valerie thought, _Because he can't breathe_. . . The thought was quickly banished by the vision of Vlad's gaping mouth being filled with water. . . and not just _any_ water.

"Nice plan, Ember." She said.

"Youngblood had the pink hair dye." Ember said modestly. "And Deluge cranked the pressure and Static electrified the water."

"Not to mention that I played some silence so that he wouldn't hear us sniggering." Clavier added. (AN: Yes, not only can she play music, she can play silence. Deal with it.)

"And of corse, cloaking us in darkness so that he couldn't see us had nothing to do with our success." Dusk deadpanned. "Obviously, if he couldn't _hear_ us he would be oblivious to the nine children creeping across the room."

"You were all good." Dani said. Phantom just looked thoughtful, glancing at the ceiling.

"What are you up to, Phantom?" Valerie snapped, but her voice lacked the edge that it usually carried.

Phantom smiled. "Oh, nothing, certainly not that Vlad had a security camera in that room and that if we hacked in we could take the security footage and post it on youtube."

All eyes in the room turned to Phantom. Youngblood was the first to break the silence.

"Ok, let's put it to a vote. Who here thinks that Vlad has had enough and should be let off the hook, and who thinks that I should go get Technis?"

It was a unanimous vote.

**Vlad:** Please tell me that they voted for the first one?

**Me:** Wow, you _are_ a fruitloop. Why would I tell you that? You always told me not to lie.

**Vlad:** Oh, come on, can't we vote on this?

**Me:** Sure.

**Vlad:** I vote they don't.

**Me:** I vote they do.

**Vlad:** You can't take action as long as it's a tie.

**Me:** Any ties are broken by Dani and Danny.

**Vlad:** Oh, cheese logs.


	9. Chapter 9

Still writing this story. . . don't wanna write Warmhearted Wraith 2 right now. . . no reason for it, just don't wanna. . . and since I'm queen, I don't hafta do what I don't wanna. . .

**Disclaimer:** Don't wanna write a disclaimer. . . I'll let my royal psychologist do that.

**RP:** She's a very delusional person. If she has ever claimed to own Danny Phantom, I am truly and deeply sorry for any inconvenience.

**Me: **Shuddap. You're ruining my delusion.

The Eternal Slumber Party

Ember traced the pattern on Vlad's expensive couch.

"So, what do we do now? Band Hero?" Dani asked.

Ember's head shot up. "Band hero?"

Dani looked slightly creeped out by Ember's sudden interest. "Yeah, band hero. You have to sing and play instruments. On the Wii."

Ember nodded. "Ok. . . but I still wanna see the dipstick die twice."

Phantom groaned into the couch, his face buried in the cushions. "Once wasn't enough for you?"

"Nope!"

Phantom straightened up, and slid off the couch. he sat down next to the green disk and placed his hand in the middle.

"Where to start. . ." He murmured, then closed his eyes to focus, and the screen turned blue and rippled. A splash could be heard, then several more. Then the same girl's voice that had infuriated Valerie with it's familiarity fizzled in.

"Honestly, Danny, there are some days I wish I had never even met you!"

The camera quickly panned up to see a blur of black speeding away on a scooter.

_There's something familiar about that scooter_. . . Valerie thought. Then the memory skipped forwards and Valerie saw a green-skinned ghost floating in front of her looking smug. She had long, long black hair that had a blue circlet on top of it. She was wearing a belly shirt of the same blue color, with a small band of purple over the top. The same bands of purple covered her wrists and upper arms, while a purple necklace hung with the same grace as the thin blue bracelets did. It was her skirt, however, that was strangest. a purple band tightly hugged the ghost's waist, and a skirt almost like a blue veil dripped down from it. Valerie couldn't even tell where the skirt ended and the ghost's tail began.

Phantom's voice interrupted Valerie's thoughts. "Desiree. . . what do _you_ want?"

The ghost- Desiree- answered with a smile. "You. Out of the way. But it's not about what _I_ want, it's about what your little _friend_ wants. And she just wished _she'd never met you!_"

Phantom muttered something indistinct before there was a flash of green light and the sound of Phantom screaming. The scream was cut off in the middle as the scene changed again. This time, Valerie saw steps shuddering past as Phantom climbed

The girl's voice came in, sounding exasperated. "Why won't you _believe_ me?"

The view paused, and in came Phantom's voice, sounding even more exasperated than the girl. "Believe what? That I had _superpowers? _That we're best friends, even though I never _met_ you?"

"Yes! Isn't that _crystal_ clear?"

The scene changed again, to a view of a scrapbook. The only thing the screen picked up was a photo of Phantom floating in front of a glowing green portal that looked very familiar. Then Valerie lost concentration as the voice spoke again.

"A few months ago, I convinced you to go into that." A hand came into view and pointed to the portal. "And you got-"

"-Superpowers?"

"Actually, GHOST powers."

Again, the screen cut to another scene. Valerie was getting annoyed, all this switching between scenes was annoying her, she'd just begin to place the voice or where they were when she was yanked away.

"Are you sure about this, Danny?" Came the girl's voice.

"No, but you saw those things. . . monsters. . . ghosts. . . whatever!"

Valerie got a horrible sense of Deja vu as she saw Phantom- no, not Phantom _yet_- stepping into the same jumpsuit. She leaned forwards, ready to see if it had the DP symbol-

When suddenly a golf game came onscreen.

"Sorry!" Dani yelled. "I sat on the remote!" Valerie glanced at her and saw Dani frantically pressing buttons that didn't seem to work.

"Give me that!" Valerie snapped, but not in the way she snapped at Phantom. As far as Valerie could tell, Dani was much nicer than her. . . uh, um. . . _what do you call the person that a clone is cloned from? _Valerie wondered. Then she just sighed and pressed the change channel button. She was rewarded by a close-up view of a black DP symbol on a white jumpsuit.

"What is this?"

"Just trust me. . ."

Almost-Phantom turned and walked into the tunnel. Valerie shut her eyes, but the scream was enough to let her know that he'd done what he'd gone in to do.

Phantom had killed himself.

**Me:** Ok, that was shorter than usual, but it was also my second chapter today, so don't complain. Also, I expect a review for BOTH chapters, thank you very much. Give me a play-by-play on your emotions regarding what's going on.

**Valerie:** Phantom KILLED himself?

**Me:** Shuddap, you're not allowed to say that until the next chapter where we all view your reaction and gauge your repentance.

**Valerie:** I'm sorry, _what?!_

**Me:** Oh, my, what an interesting thing over there. . . I'm going to go look at it.

**Valerie:** Get back here!

**Me:** Or what? Your weapons don't work on Vampires.

**Valerie:** Grrr. . .


	10. Chapter 10

I don't have anything to put here.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own DP, so don't sue me. Hey, that rhymed!

The Eternal Slumber Party

Valerie stared at Phantom. His head was lowered and the floor seemed to be very interesting to him. He wouldn't look her in the eye. Valerie shook her head, not understanding. Why would Phantom do that? He'd been alive again, so why kill himself?

Phantom began to mumble to the floor, not meeting the stunned stares of all present. "Turns out Desiret was getting ready for the meteor shower where everyone would be making wishes. Someone made a wish for my memory back, so It would've gotten fixed like that anyway."

"You killed yourself?" Valerie finally burst out.

Ember followed suit, now that Valerie had spoken an invisible dam had broken and words spilled out. "Yeah, Dipstick, you could've had a normal life."

"You had a normal life, period." Clavier protested.

"If you hadn't done that, Desiret would never have made you a ghost again!" Dusk added.

"Yeah, why'd you do that?" Deluge said at the same time Static said, "You should've stayed the way you were."

Phantom looked up at them. "Yeah, I would've had a normal life. I would've had more time to be normal, but. . ." His voice trailed off.

"You could've lived!" Valerie said.

"It wasn't a life I was supposed to have." Phantom whispered. "Even with my memory wiped, I knew that. It was a stolen life and I could never have enjoyed it. Some part of me just knew I shouldn't be sitting around when things like that were happening. Some part of me knew I should have died. Maybe I deserved to."

It was the largest bomb he could have possibly dropped, none of the other partygoers knew what to say. Valerie had never encountered something like this.

_If you had the chance to take back meeting Phantom, to have a normal life, would you take it?_ Whispered a voice in the back of Valerie's skull. Valerie pondered this. _Of corse I wouldn't! _She replied. _Oh really? Come on, it's your own head. You can be honest in here._ Valerie was about to yell loudly in her thoughts when she realized something. _I would take that chance. Oh, god, I would. What is wrong with me that a ghost has more responsibility than I do?_

Dani was the first to speak, and she did so by changing the subject as fast as she could. "Ok, now let's order pizza and play Band Hero."

Phantom sighed. "Good idea, Danielle."

Line break!

The phone rang in the local pizza parlor, a place called 'Slice Of Heaven'. Erving, formerly a Nastyburger employee, picked up the phone and recited the standard response.

"Hello, this is Slice Of Heaven, may I help you?" Three voices crowded together and shoved their way up the phone line, competing for supremacy.

"We'd like six cheese piz-" Said the voice of a familiar-sounding guy. He was immediately interrupted by a familiar-sounding girl.

"No, we wanted Hawaiian!"

The next voice was a much younger-sounding boy. "We wanted meat lovers!"

"Some of us are vegetarian!" Came the girl.

"Then get a cheese pizza, not all cheese!"

"Um, we'd like-" Said the first boy, only to be interrupted again.

"I want hawaiian!"

"Like heck you do, Youngblood! We're getting cheese!"

"No!"

"Yeah!"

"Thpt!"

"Will you shut up!" Yelled the first voice, the one closest to the phone. "Make up your mind already!"

"You get Youngblood to _shut up_, then we'll make up our minds." Said the girl.

Another voice, this one also female, entered the range of the phone.

"Deluge wants anchovies and Static wants stuffed crust."

"I'm with Youngblood." Said the voice of a maybe twelve-year old. (AN: In case people think I'm splitting hairs with the whole twelve/ten thing, only Ember thought she was ten because she didn't know her that well. If she'd known her better, she wouldn't have made that bet) "Hawaiian sounds good."

"Aw, shuddap Danielle."

"Hey!"

There was a sound of things crashing and fists colliding. The newest older girl began speaking.

"Are they allowed to do that? There _is_ a truce on."

The first boy spoke up. "Nah, it's a play fight. It violates the truce when they start shooting at each other."

Erving paled and quickly looked at the clock. His shift was over. His replacement, Austin, walked over to him. Erving felt sorry for the blonde-haired brown-eyed guy he was about to hand these loonies off to. Quickly covering the mouthpiece of the telephone, he gave Austin the phone.

"Your problem now." He said, and raced outside.

Time lapse POV change line break

Austin hesitantly knocked on the door of the mayor's mansion. He'd checked, double-checked and triple-checked the address but he was sure this was the place. Why was Vlad Masters ordering six pizzas?

Almost as soon as his knuckles hit the wood of the door the door opened, revealing a twelve-year-old girl. . . but a twelve-year-old girl like no twelve-year-old girl that Austin had ever seen. Her hair was a glowing white, and it wasn't the only thing glowing. Every pore in her body seemed to drip white light, while her eyes glowed a florescent neon green. She was wearing a costume so strikingly similar to Danny Phantom's that Austin almost mistook her for the protector of Amity Park at first glance. She was floating three feet of the ground and eye-level with the high-school student.

"Oh, cool!" She said, then spun around. "Pizza's here!" She yelled.

"Hang on Danielle!" Came an older girl's voice. "I'm totally kicking butt in Band Hero!"

"Yeah, 'cause you're the guitar, Ember." Came a boy's voice. Austin felt his breath catch in his throat. Was it- it was! Danny Phantom!

"Um. . . where's mayor Masters?" Austin asked.

"You mean Vlad?" Danielle asked. "Upstairs somewhere. Come on in, you can drop the pizza on that table." She said, opening the door wider to a view of Danny Phantom, Ember McLain, the Red Huntress, and some sort of little kid ghost playing Band hero. Ember was playing guitar, the kid was on the drums, the Red huntress was singing and Danny Phantom was playing another guitar that was labeled 'base' on the screen. Austin hesitantly put the six pizzas on the table.

"Come on, you can play with us." Danielle said, then quietly added, "We'll all be happy if you take the guitar from Ember."

**Me:** Ember was dethroned. Ha.

**Ember:** I will destroy you for that.

**Me:** Yeah, right. I'm the one writing the story. Destroy me, and you'll be stuck in limbo for the rest of your life.

**Ember:** Why do I doubt that that's true?

**Me:** Do you want to test it?

**Ember:** Review before I kill her, please.

**Me:** Already dead, Dipstick.

**Ember:** Hey! That's my line!


	11. Chapter 11

I'm so incredibly sorry for not updating sooner! I'm temporarily banned from the computer. Will be for three more days. This will be really long, though, so no complaining!

**Disclaimer:** I will order Youngblood to make people think you're crazy if you say I own DP.

The Eternal Slumber Party

Valerie was amazed when Dani invited some pizza guy to come play Band Hero with them. She figured that the ghosts wouldn't want a second human hanging around, but everyone seemed ok with it. Well, except Ember. Then again, Ember had a reason to be annoyed.

"I still don't see how this is fair." She said. You could _hear_ the scowl in her voice.

Phantom was smiling. "We voted. You lost. How could that be fairer?"

"Fair? _Fair?_ I'm playing drums! Everyone here knows I hate the drums!"

"_I_ didn't." Said Dani, pounding on the red button on the guitar to get the quick tempo of the current song. Hearing her voice almost reminded Valerie of a question she'd had for her, but she couldn't quite recall it.

"Me neither." Phantom agreed. At first Valerie thought he had read her mind, but then realized that he was just agreeing with Dani. They had such similar opinions and such that Valerie couldn't believe she hadn't seen the whole 'clone' thing earlier. One of the similar opinions walked down the stairs and both Phantoms hissed slightly.

"H-hello, mayor Masters." Said the pizza guy. "Um. . . they said I should wait for you so. . ."

Vlad smiled in a horribly sickening way. "Of corse. Come on, I'll walk you to the door."

The pizza guy stood up. "Um. . . ok."

"See yah, Austin." Dani said, snatching the microphone from Valerie. Her voice reverberated through the Wii before the gap in the song ended and she handed it back.

"Yeah, see yah, Austin." Phantom chorused.

'Austin' followed Vlad from the room.

LINE BREAK POV CHANGE AUSTIN'S POV

Austin glanced at mayor Masters. A pressing question shoved its way to the front of his mouth and he started to let it out. "Um, mayor masters-"

"Call me Vlad."

"Um, ok, _Vlad_, why are there. . ." Austin tried to figure out a way to phrase his question. Luckily, Vlad found a way for him.

"Ghosts having a slumber party in my lounge?"

Austin nodded. Vlad sighed. "Well, Every year they have a truce. That means no ghost fights endangering innocent people, no massive ghost invasions, not even a tiny blip on the radar. I saw it as my duty to the town to harbor them." Vlad opened the door and handed Austin a check for the Pizzas. Just as he was about to close the door Austin blurted out his other question.

"Um, Vlad, why is your hair. . . pink?"

Vlad sighed once more. "I have a lounge filled with ghostly teens. Why do you think my hair is pink?"

LINE BREAK POV CHANGE ONCE MORE VALERIE'S POV

"Why're we playing regular Band hero?" Said a ghost from behind Valerie. She turned to look at her.

The ghost was one of the oddest ones yet. At first Valerie thought that she had on a nice dress that was blue with brown trim. She was wearing light blue converse high-tops and her hair was short and brown with a small blue clip in it. But on second glance Valerie saw that she had only been half right. Somewhere along the center of the ghost's body there was a. . . line. That was the only way Valerie could describe it. On the side of the dress there was a scorch line like charcoal, and on the other side the line was crinkled with frostbite and ice particles. The clothes on that side were a pair of black shorts, a simple purple T-shirt and converse high-tops. The difference of the high-tops were that these were purple with black laces, an odd combination. Her jet-black hair reached the middle of her back, down straight and not in a hair clip.

"In answer to your unasked question, no, I'm not two separate people, I just died in a weird way. I died in a fire in the middle of winter in Alaska, hence the whole ice-" The ghost threw out her right hand, the one with the T-shirt, and a snowball shot from it. "-_and_ fire-" The left hand was twisted slightly in midair, causing a spiral of flames. "-powers. My name's Ash."

Valerie nodded, absorbing this, then opened her mouth to talk when she was interrupted.

"And to answer your _other_ unasked question, what I meant by 'regular' Band Hero is that we could hook the memory reading device up to the Wii so it creates a music video, not just from cartoon band members, but from actual memories that it can animate and alter. It can choose a song that best fits us as a person!"

Valerie blinked. "We can do that?"

Ash shrugged. "Technis is still here, right?"

"Well. . . yeah."

Ash smiled happily. "So what are we waiting for? Vlad to come back?"

LINE BREAK

The screen lit up and Technis nervously stood up.

"That should do it. I'm going now." He said, then practically leaped into the ghost portal.

"You know, it's a testament to the sheer power of the ESP that Technis couldn't come up with a longwinded speech." Phantom chuckled. Then a name flashed on the screen.

**Dani Phantom**

Dani took the microphone, nervously rolling it between her fingers. Her foot subconsciously began to tap to the electrical slide and drum beat at the beginning of the song, and she tightened her grip on the microphone. Then the first words came across the screen and she cleared her throat.

"Rock Mafia. . ." Dani's voice echoed slightly as the microphone amplified her voice, but Valerie could hear that she had near-perfect pitch even without the help. Even if her voice shook a little, it was still powerful. Then the next phrase entered the screen and Dani's voice became steadier.

"For those who don't know me, I can get a bit crazy. . ."

A picture of Dani appeared on the screen. She was holding a water pistol and looking to the side of the 'camera'. The next picture spun on and landed as if thrown, and slightly overlapped the first. The second was of her looking right at the camera, and soon a third appeared of her firing at the screen. A forth landed of her triumphant smile.  
"Have to get my way, yeah, 24 hours a day. . ."

A video clip of Dani storming up the stairs and slamming a door behind her appeared, then everything around the door became green leaving the door floating in the air.

"'Cause I'm hot like that."

Dani's hands appeared, clutching the top of the door. It flipped, the back of the door purple, and Dani was flung forward, clinging to the bottom of the door. It shot downwards from her weight, and Dani's feet soon hit purple ground. The door landed right behind her and she turned to it.  
"Every guy everywhere just gives me mad attention, like I'm under inspection. . ."

Dani opened the door, revealing a clip of Dani smiling and Vlad congratulating her. Although Valerie couldn't hear the words, she knew that they must be good.

"I always get a ten. . ."

In the picture, Vlad became three Vlads and the background changed so that Dani was standing on a stage and all three Vlads were holding up number cards like ratings with, you guessed it, tens on them.

"'Cause I'm built like that."

Dani's head fell to her chest and the scene around her changed so that she was sitting in a metal pod-like structure, her legs not quite formed, small metal hands pressing the green drips into recognizable shapes.  
"I go through guys like money flyin' out their hands. . ."

The screen showed Dani waking up and fighting her way out. She ran from Vlad and gave Phantom a hug, Vlad standing behind her, bewildered.  
"They try to change me but they realize they can't. . ."

The door slammed and Dani ran by, being chased by Vlad. They entered another door, another _memory_, and as Dani passed through the doorframe she became her human self. She stood next to another metal pod, this one contained Phantom. He looked about sleepily, Dani looking at him with something close to triumph.  
"And every tomorrow is a day I never planned, if you're gonna be my man, understand. . ."

Vlad smiled at Dani, and she smiled too. He began to talk, but as he did Dani's smile began to fade, slowly assuming a hurt expression. Tears formed in her eyes that soon became anger. On the next line of the song she acted.  
"I can't be tamed. . ."

Dani spun and hit the release button to the pod, steam obscuring the image.

"I can't be changed. . ."

Dani as a ghost stepped out of the steam, matching pace with Phantom as they fired an ectoblast at the camera.  
"I can't be blamed, I can't, can't, I can't be tamed, I can't be changed, I can't be saved, I can't be, can't be, I can't be tamed. . ."

The camera pulled back at the last moment, revealing that the blast was heading for Vlad, also a ghost. It hit home and he flew backwards, smashing the edge of the purple doorframe. Dani leaped up and flew through the hole, ending up in a hallway full of doors. The Dani on the screen began dancing down the hallway, smiling and singing along.  
"If there was a question about my intentions, I'll tell ya, I'm not here to sell ya, or tell ya to go to He-"

Dani's hand, this time her human one, shot out of a door and covered the ghost Dani's mouth before she could finish the swear. The real, not onscreen Dani was so shocked she didn't finish either. The ghost Dani onscreen attempted to sing some more but couldn't continue and the next few words were muffled.

"Awah, ahwa, wa wa. . ."

Human Dani onscreen stepped out from the door and her hand slipped into ghost Dani's, tugging her into the door opposite. The door was filled with white light that obscured their forms.  
"I'm like a puzzle but all of my pieces are jagged. . ."

The light dissipated, showing the two Danis ransacking a store filled with black spiky clothes, trying on various outfits and giggling at each other.  
"If you can understand this. . ."

The two Danis fell, laughing, into each other's arms. Human Dani wore a black shirt with a tall collar, black combat boots covered in black glitter and rhinestones, and one glove on her left hand. Ghost Dani had ripped tights, a black jean miniskirt, a glove on her right hand, and a small black top hat barely the size of her fist, tilting on the right side of her head and dripping lace like it was bleeding.

"We can make some magic. . ."

The two Danis became one, their respective black clothes becoming one outfit worn by a gray-haired teal-eyed Dani. You would expect the gray hair to be unattractive, but somehow it was beautiful, a silver dripping mass that contrasted strongly with the black lace.  
"I'm on like that. I wanna fly I wanna drive I wanna go. . ."

The silver-haired Dani leapt into the air and flew out a high window. She immediately was back in the ghost zone.  
"I wanna be a part of something I don't know. . ."

Silver-haired Dani opened another door.

"And if you try to hold me back I might explode. . ."

In this scene, Vlad was fighting ghost Dani and ghost Dani was winning. She threw one final glowing blast at him and he collapsed.  
"Baby, by now you should know!" Screamed the onscreen Dani at Vlad, her voice the same as real Danis.  
"I can't be tamed. I can't be saved. I can't be blamed. I can't, can't, I can't be tamed. I can't be changed. I can't be saved. I can't be, can't be, I can't be tamed."

The scene spiraled into swirls of color and gray-haired Dani shielded her eyes. The colors wrapped around her, changing her hair to white once more and blowing her black clothes away to reveal her jumpsuit. The remaining colors became a lab, and Dani was forced onto an examination table and strapped down. Ghost Vlad appeared in the mess of colors around her, prodding buttons and fiddling with dials and not noticing when the onscreen Dani began singing, her eyes still shut.  
"Now, I'm not a trick you play, I'm wired a different way. I'm not a mistake, I'm not a fake, it's set in my DNA."

Dani's eyes flashed open and they were pure green, no whites or pupils. Green light spiraled outwards, pulling out black doors that opened one by one, revealing more Danis. With each one that came, the voice of the real Dani became slightly louder.  
"Don't change me."

"Don't change me."

"Don't change me!"

"_Don't change me!_"  
"_I can't be tamed!_"

The real Dani's voice held the note, and the onscreen Danis sang a harmony that mingled with her note.  
"I wanna fly I wanna drive I wanna go! I wanna be a part of something I don't know! And if you try to hold me back I might explode! Baby, by now you should know!"

The Danis floated free as the background vanished, and they all fell into step with each other, preforming twists and spins in a beautiful dance. The real Dani wasn't turned to the screen anymore. She turned towards her audience, and Valerie noticed that her eyes were closed. _She must know this song by heart,_ Valerie thought.  
"I can't be tamed, I can't be saved, I can't be blamed, I can't, can't, I can't be tamed, I can't be changed, I can't be saved, I can't be, can't be, I can't be tamed!"

There was silence in the room.

**Me:** Ok, who should go next and what is their song? I will listen to all of the suggestions!

**Danny: **Oh, lord in heaven, here comes another headache.

**Me:** Oh, quit whining. It wasn't _that_ bad.

**Danny:** Every song that you like _at the same time?_ At _full volume?_

**Me:** Don't be a baby.

**Danny:** Somebody kill me.


	12. Chapter 12

Hi, dedicated and annoyed readers! You may be wondering exactly why I've been MIA for a week. No, I'm not dead (well, MORE dead, anyway). No, I wasn't kidnaped (sadly, a distinct possibility). No, a group of furry magicians with a love for books about hobbits didn't break into my castle and smash my computers with a giant hammer made of platinum and rubies (if you thought that was what happened, you need to have your head examined). Actually, I just couldn't go near the computer and was forced to use my nook for EVERYTHING. I can't login to my account from my nook. See the problem?

Plus, I couldn't pick a song. I finally went with this one because the idea I had to go with it was too cool to ignore.

Anyway, that's my excuse. Take it or leave it.

**Disclaimer:** DP belongs to Nick, and they won't sell him to me!

**Danny:** Thank god for that.

**Me:** Shut up and go into the story! You're not supposed to talk to me until the END of the chapter!

The Eternal Slumber Party

The silence was quickly broken as everyone clapped. Some ghosts even stood up and gave a standing ovation. To Phantom's immense displeasure, there were even a couple of wolf whistles. He spun quickly but failed to catch the ghosts responsible. Valerie giggled as the threw herself into the clapping with gusto. She thought about the performance. It was probably the most amazing thing Valerie had ever seen, the part with the human Danis was. . .

Valerie remembered the question she'd had for Dani. As Dani sat down, flushed with excitement, Valerie leaned over and asked her question.

"Dani, if you're a clone of Phantom. . . and you have a human half. . ."

Dani glanced at Valerie, slight fear in her eyes. Valerie brushed it off, she would have found out Danny's secret anyway. She was a little annoyed that he hadn't said anything, though.

"And your human half looks like Fenton. . ." Valerie stared the little ghost girl down. Dani looked like she was panicking.

"Then you're a clone of two people, Phantom and Fenton, right?"

Dani's look of panic froze on her face, then she slowly nodded. "Right. Two people. Fenton and Phantom. Two completely separate people."

Valerie glared. "And you didn't think to tell me this. . . because?" She was annoyed, not just at Dani but also at Fenton. Why hadn't he told her that Vlad had cloned him? That he had a half-ghost half-clone? Dani opened her mouth to reply when Phantom plopped down next to her.

"Dani, that was awesome!" He said. Dani grinned.

"Thanks, I thought-" She began, but Ember interrupted.

"Phantom, you're next." She said. Valerie glanced up, and the name Danny was indeed flashing on the screen. Phantom stuttered something about not singing very well, but Ember was having none of it. She steered him up towards the microphone and forcibly made him grab hold of it. He glanced around nervously, then as soon as the first chords hit was obliged to begin singing.

"Awoah woah oh oh oh. . . halfway gone, I'm halfway gone. . ." Whatever he'd been saying about not being good at singing, he was a liar. He was amazing. The screen flashed to life at the first notes, and to Valerie's surprise a cartoon version of his death appeared. She saw him from above, but this Danny had black hair. Valerie figured that made sense, because if his jumpsuit had flipped then so would his hair. He walked through the tunnel and his hand hit green button. He fell to his knees, looking up at his hand, and. . . froze. Time seemed to have stopped. Phantom stepped from deep within his still living body, and glanced around sleepily. The back of the ghost portal lit up with a white light and Phantom walked through it, glancing backwards with just a little regret as he passed into the wall of light. He found himself standing before a white glowing tightrope-like line. On one side of the line stood his human self, and on the other side stood his ghost self. . . both in midair. He stepped onto the line, his hair and jumpsuit turning gray in a cross between both forms. He turned to his human self.

"You were always hard to hold, so letting go ain't easy. . ."

The gray Danny reached out to touch his living counterpart, but his hand passed through and he tumbled from the rope, falling. He caught it with one hand, barely holding on. His hair began becoming more and more white.

"I'm hanging on but growing cold, while my mind is leaving. . ."

Phantom managed to pull himself onto the line so he was resting with both hands and elbows on it. His ghostly self leaned down and sang to him too.

"Talk, talk is cheap, give me a word you can keep."

The ghost self seemed to be telling him to let go, to stop clinging to life, but Phantom shook his head and held tighter. Human Phantom leaned as far as he could and stretched out a hand.

"Cause you're halfway gone and I'm on my way, and I'm feelin, feelin, feelin this way. . . "

Phantom took the hand.

"Cause I'm halfway in but don't take too long, cause I'm halfway gone, I'm halfway gone. You got one foot out the door, and choking on the other, always think there's something more, it's just around the corner. . ."

Human Phantom pulled him up, but he kept pulling, dragging Phantom off his side of the line. As he did so, white light touched the arm that Phantom had had pulled over. The jumpsuit turned white with black gloves where it passed over, but dead Phantom was having none of it. He grabbed Phantom's other arm and pulled him towards his side, the jumpsuit turning the opposite of his other arm.

"Talk, talk is cheap, give me a word you can keep. Cause I'm halfway gone and I'm on my way, and I'm feelin, feelin feelin this way. Cause you're halfway in, but don't take too long, cause I'm halfway gone, I'm halfway gone."

In-between Danny struggled and pulled free, but in doing so plummeted off the rope. He shut his eyes, and as he fell it was interjected with flashes of his actual human self in the tunnel, with the world moving in slow motion. Green light started to seep from the corners of the machine, closing in on him.

"If you want me out, then I'm on my way, and I'm feelin, feelin feelin this way. Cause you're halfway in, but don't take too long, cause I'm halfway gone, I'm halfway gone. I'm halfway gone, I'm halfway gone. Now I'm halfway gone, I'm halfway gone."

Phantom never hit the ground. His larger-than-life teal eyes opened, and faded to green. His hair turned whit and he found himself lying on the floor at the other end of the tunnel.

"Don't take too long, don't take too long. . ."

Phantom, now full ghost, glanced over and saw his human counterpart moving in slow motion, shrinking away from the slowly approaching green light. The deadly green light.

"Cause I'm on my way. . ."

Phantom shot to his feet. . . or tried to. He was just as slow as everything else.

"If you take too long. . ."

Phantom managed to get one foot under him and tried to run.

"Cause I'm halfway gone and I'm on way. . ."

He was ten yards away. Was he going to make it?

"And I'm feelin, feelin I'm feelin this way. . ."

Was he?

"Cause you're halfway in but don't take too long. . ."

_Was he?_

"Cause I'm halfway gone, I'm halfway gone. . ."

_Was he!?_

"If you want me out, then I'm on my way. . ."

He wasn't.

"And I'm feelin, feelin feelin this way. . ."

Phantom reached his human self just as the light licked the edge of both of their boots.

"Cause you're halfway in, but don't take too long

He took his human self by the hand, trying to pull him away, but his hand passed into his other self's hand.

"Cause I'm halfway gone, I'm halfway gone. . ."

Phantom was drawn in, the arm changing as he was. Black gloves became white, white suit became black.

"Cause I'm halfway gone, and I'm halfway gone. . ."

The green light reached them and there was a blinding flash.

"Cause I'm halfway gone, yeah I'm halfway gone. . ."

As the last notes of the song played, the 'camera' drifted upwards as if carried on a wafting breeze. Below lay Phantom's still body, his green eyes open and unblinking. The breeze ruffled his hair, and as the camera floated away green sparks jumped over him as he flickered from alive to dead. The sparks became less and less frequent until they stopped altogether and the screen faded to black.

**Me:** That's even cooler if you're one of those people who visualizes as they read.

**Danny:** Why the heck didn't Valerie figure out my secret after that?

**Me:** Obviously, because a) you always wear those jeans and shirt and b) because it was in cartoon. It's particularly fun if you imagine that in anime. . .

**Danny:** You. Are. Demented.

**Me:** Of corse, I see that last bit as real, but who cares? That would be a really fun video to watch.

**Danny:** How modest of you.

**Me:** Oh, hush.


	13. Chapter 13

I'm just going to start writing, although you'll be happy to know that this will be a triple feature, which means it has two songs and a lot of regular non-song stuff too.

**Disclaimer:** Don't tell nick that I stole DP for this, or they'll cancel my triple feature!

The Eternal Slumber Party

The crowd went wild. Valerie didn't. While everyone else clapped and cheered, she wondered what was so great about a video where the ghost boy died yet again. Obviously that was what it had been about, the ghost side taking over the human one. . . right?

Phantom sat down, blushing from all the attention. He looked like he would vanish if not for the fact that some of the ghosts here could see right through invisibility. Valerie nearly groaned. She was getting as bad as Phantom with those stupid puns. Maybe he was rubbing off on her a little.

"Red, it's your turn." Phantom said, obviously hoping the crowd would finally stop cheering if she went up. It worked. The moment she stood up and took the microphone the entire room quieted. _Please_. She thought. _Please let this music video not reveal my identity_.

And then the music began and Valerie was forced to forget her thoughts and simply sing.

"All my life you know I haven't been very love strong. . ."

The screen flashed to show Valerie. . . _without her suit_. . . blushing as Danny Fenton waved to her. _So much for it not revealing me._

"There's been so many fights that I fought and I never won. . ."

It cut to the 'Red Huntress' being shot down from the sky by Phantom. Repeatedly. _This_ was just embarrassing.

"So I decided that I should just give up in trying to right your wrong."

Valerie (non suit) glared up at Phantom when he appeared out the window in class, but that was as far as it went. She didn't get up and simply turned away.

"And word on the street is she did to you what you did to me. . ."

Red Valerie blasted Phantom from behind and he fell towards the ground.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"

Onscreen Valerie counted down until he smashed into the ground, then she continued firing, each blast punctuating a word. Phantom scrambled around, barely avoiding each shot.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Boy! Your Goin' Down! Down! Down! Boy! To the ground where you left my heart to bleed. . ."

It cut to now un-suited Valerie crossing her arms and standing over a semi-conscious Phantom. She leaned down.

"Bang! She shot you, karma tastes so sweet!"

Onscreen Valerie finished yelling the words and kicked Phantom. The scene faded.

"So, Unfortunately for girls like me there are more like you. Bending and breaking the rules we make exceptions to.."

The screen cut to Valerie (U.S.) staring as every ghost in the ghost zone blew right by her, laughing and shooting ectoblasts.

"But how does it feel! To swim in your own tears! You Lied, and you lied, and I died and I died, and now you know why. . ."

Valerie (R.H.) was having an all out shoot fest with Phantom and managed to knock him backwards towards a building.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"

Valerie counted down as she waited for him to crash into the building. At this point, the performance wasn't just on the screen. Valerie had been taken over by the beat and was swaying to the music, using her free hand to push the cord of the microphone back and forth like Lady Gaga in Just Dance. It was a fun move to pull off.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Boy! Your Goin' Down! Down! Down! Boy! To the ground where you left my heart to bleed, bang! She shot you! Karma Tastes so sweet. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Bang! Bang! Bang! Boy! Your Goin' Down! Down! Down! Boy! To the ground where you left my heart to bleed, bang! She shot you! Karma Tastes so sweet."

Valerie could no longer see the video, she had closed her eyes. She knew this part of the song from the last time she'd sung it. She spun on her heels, back and forth, throwing herself into it. This was nothing like school dances when all anyone ever did was jump up and down in time to the music, she was really dancing, and from the look of it. . .

Valerie opened her eyes and spotted several ghosts dancing with her, Phantom, Dani, Youngblood, Ash, Dusk, Clavier, Static, and Deluge the only ones she recognized, but there were definitely others. Lots of others.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Boy! Your goin' down! Down! Down! Boy! To the ground where you left my heart to bleed! Bang! She shot you! Karma tastes so-"

Ember began singing along, and so did Dani and Deluge. Ash, Dusk, and Clavier quickly followed and several others gave it their best shot. Soon the whole of the girls in the room were howling along, and no one cared if they sounded like crap. It was fun and that was all.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Boy! You're goin' down! Down! Down! Boy! To the ground where you left my heart to bleed! Bang! She shot you! Karma tastes so-"

It was Phantom who started the ectoblast light show, hurling his fist into the air and letting harmless but stunning green light pass over everyone's heads. Dani came next, then Ember shot her own blue swirl, and suddenly everyone with ghost powers was hurling light around. It was like strobe lights and fireworks combined into a dazzling display, amazing and ethereal like nothing Valerie had ever seen. It charged her up, along with everyone else, as the displaced energy found its way into bodies it hadn't come from and everyone tingled with the feeling of cold fire rushing through them.

"Bang, bang, bang, boy! You're goin' down! Down! Down! Boy! To the ground where you left my heart to bleed! Bang! she shot you! Karma tastes so sweet!"

The words left Valerie's mouth and hung over everyone's heads, slowly sinking to the floor. There was a pause as the electricity faded (in some cases literal electricity, Static had gotten so exited his hair started shooting sparks), then Ember looked up at Valerie. "Question, who was the African-American girl in the video?"

Valerie blinked. They hadn't made the connection? They _hadn't?_ Yes! Only now she needed to come up with an excuse. . .

To her utter amazement, it was Phantom who came to her rescue. He had obviously given this some thought. "You didn't guess, Ember? It's Red's best friend, obviously. That's the reason she's so gung-ho about shooting me down. Who'd you think it was?"

Ember rolled her eyes but fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. The other ghosts, who had held their applause until now, began clapping wildly. Valerie sat down, grinning as the ghosts continued their applause. Phantom smiled at her.

"Bang bang bang? Really?" He joked, then he glanced around. "Hey, have you seen Dani?"

Valerie glanced back and forth. Dani was gone, and so was. . . "Where are Ash, Dusk, and Clavier?"

Phantom looked around. "This does not look good."

Just then the doors burst open and the four girls burst in, giggling. They were all covered in various spills, drips, and dustings of flour, egg, sugar, and some other unidentifiable things. Dani was hiding something behind her back. When Ash finally stopped laughing long enough to talk, she didn't even bother addressing the ghosts in general. She instead turned to Dani and managed to croak out, "Well, Vlad's kitchen has seen better days."

"Tell me about it." Clavier gasped. Dusk was laughing so hard that she was lit up like a Christmas tree, white light escaping her mouth in ridiculous amounts. Dani said nothing, only pulled out a gigantic bowl of. . . cookie dough?

"We kinda blew up the kitchen making this." She said. "Did you guys know what happens when you accidentally put metal in the microwave? It catches on fire." (AN: No joke, it really does. Blue fire)

Valerie had one question. "Why cookie dough? Why not cookies?"

Dusk smirked. "We set the kitchen on fire just getting _this _far. You really want us to try to keep going?" Valerie suddenly realized that the kitchen might well _still_ be on fire. Dusk probably noticed her expression because she rolled her eyes and said, in a voice with sarcasm drizzled on top, "And we left the kitchen burning so it would destroy us all."

Valerie rolled her eyes right back at her. Dani plopped down on the couch and stuck a popsicle stick into the dough, scooping some up and placing it in her mouth. She sighed happily.

"Gimmie some of that!" Ash said, and stuck a spoon into the batter.

"Where'd you get the spoon?" Dani asked, and Ash grinned.

"Not all of us stuck them in the microwave, Dani."

Youngblood popped up from behind the couch. "Hey, I want some!" Clavier sighed and pulled out some plastic wrap, tearing it into good-sized pieces. She pulled out her own spoon and scooped a large amount of dough onto the plastic wrap, tossing it to Youngblood. Several other ghosts crowded around, and Dusk gave them a withering look.

"Get in line."

LINE BREAK TIME LAPSE

Phantom sat back down next to Valerie with his own cookie dough as Valerie was handed the bowl with the very last of it inside. Valerie glanced at the Phantoms, both happily munching on the stuff.

"Um, you know you can get sick from this stuff, right?" She asked. Ember snorted.

"We're dead. Salmonella is the least of our worries." Phantom nodded sagely, agreeing.

"That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger. That which _does_ kill you makes you a _lot_ stronger. And that which doesn't kill _me_ had better run." Dani said. Valerie shrugged and dragged her finger along the bottom of the bowl before sticking it in her mouth. The cookie dough was very good, almost better than actual cookies.

"Ember, you're. . . sort of up." Someone said. Ember didn't even attempt to look at the speaker.

"How can I be 'sort of' up. Either I'm up or I'm not."

Deluge answered the question. "The screen says, 'Dance music, first singer, Ember.'"

Ember glanced up. "Dance music? What, we're supposed to dance to this?"

Dusk raised her eyebrows. "No, we're supposed to play musical chairs to the dance music."

Ember scanned the song title that was flashing impatiently below her name. "But that's a _guy_ song."

Phantom rolled his eyes. "So sing it a little higher than it says to." Ember growled slightly and picked up the microphone.

"Fine, but I reserve the right to alter any lyrics I don't wanna sing." Ember said. Phantom nodded.

"May I suggest bleeping out any swears? We don't want Youngblood learning anything." At Ember's reluctant nod, Phantom stood up and shoved the couch into the corner of the room, not even bothering to tell its occupants to stand up. Valerie felt it slide across the ground until the back collided against the wall. Phantom held his gloved hand out to her as if to help her up, and when she tentatively accepted it he pulled her to her feet. He didn't let go.

"Wanna dance?" He asked, green eyes shining. A techno beat began thumping in the background, interspersed with something that almost sounded like the sound fairy dust makes, although Valerie had a feeling that if she could see this 'fairy dust' it would be black. She tilted her head. Phantom looked sincere, and as she watched Dusk dimmed the regular lights and lit up some hidden strobe lights. One spewed black light and Phantom's hair and gloves glowed even brighter than normal. He was kinda cute. . . and there _was _a truce. . .

Ember began to sing. "Yo, yo, yo, yo! It's the invisible man, hot . . , Jackle, mad mantle, ready to jam. . ."

Valerie smiled. "Come on, invisible man. Let's Jam." She grabbed Phantom's hand tighter and pulled him into the crowd of ghosts in the middle of the room where they'd cleared all the tables and chairs. Dusk had outdone herself with strobe lights and flashing balls of pure light placed at strategic points on the floor. Ember was singing her heart out, despite the fact that it was a 'boy song'. So far, Valerie didn't even think she'd even changed one word of the song, unless it was to bleep out a word they would all rather Youngblood not learn.  
"It's the freshest you've ever seen him, roll the bass, rock the party through the evening. It's past the disco, beyond any club. You gotta be legendary, funky, to be allowed to even show up, but if you make it in here, you're in for one heck of a night, 'cuz the party won't stop even if you want it to, the beat takes a hold of you. The funk is so hard, it's taken over you, Ol' Jack is now controlling you. Got them all pop-locking on the spot, got their heads boppin' like the jack-in-the-box. . ."

Phantom nodded his head in time to the beat and bumped her shoulder with his. She bumped him back and soon they were both dodging back and forth in time to the music. Phantom was smiling broadly and Valerie noticed (with some surprise) that she was too. Try as she might, she couldn't stop herself. Phantom noticed this and took the opportunity to grab her other hand and press both his palms against hers, swinging her side to side in rhythm with him and the music. 1, 2, 3 4, 1, 2, 3 4, 1, 2, 3 4. . .  
"We're gonna drop the guillotine right from the top, so when it reaches your head, heh, it'll cut it clean off. Make your way to the dance floor. . . Don't waste no time, don't even waste no time. . . Make your way to the dance floor. . . Don't waste no time, don't even waste no time, go. . . Make your way to the dance floor. . . Don't waste no time, don't even waste no time. . . Make your way to the dance floor. . . Don't waste no time, don't even waste no time. . ."

Valerie glanced at the screen to see it showing short clips to go with the music. For the most part she couldn't tell who's memories they were, but once in a while a memory jumped out at her.  
"Death never looked so vibrant. . ."

There was a flash as Dusk waved slyly from the screen, outfit and face lit up with swirling colors that looked beautiful and somehow creepy.  
"Tall like a tyrant, but coloured in violent oranges, yellows and reds. . ."

Dusk's clothes were definitely violent shades of warm colors. In a moment she fell to pieces, clothes and body falling apart into pieces about the size of leaves. . . _exactly_ the size of leaves. Dusk fell into a drift of autumn leaves and the camera followed one as it drifted down onto a metal disk with just a little water on it.  
"Poppin' them big tunes from the speaker heads. . ."

A drumstick crashed down on the metal disk, which proved to really be a cymbal on a drum set. Ember had hit the drums, and the camera spared her a lingering glance before zooming in on the leaf and the water that had been flung into the air, little droplets spewing themselves through the air in a fine mist. Deluge caught these on her hand and twisted it so that they fell in a steady sheet of black liquid.  
"Who said the Grim Reaper needed to be a black-cloak wearing son of a soul eater? Huh?"

Someone in a black robe pushed his way through the black water, flinging it offscreen. Deluge vanished, and the hooded ghost pulled his hood back to reveal that it was Phantom. . . Phantom with red eyes and an evil grin. He was holding a sharp-looking sickle. (AN: Who loves that scene? I DO!)  
"No ghost stories around a campfire, just the crowd yelling for him to turn the volume up higher. . ."

Red-eyed Phantom spun, his hand landing on a record as if he was a DJ. He scratched it back and forth before vanishing and letting it spin free.  
"Never seen a scene like this before, everybody all on the dance floor, breakdancing going on hardcore, get your hands up, throw him an encore!"

Phantom- the real one this time- lifted his hands and spun Valerie while letting go with one hand. Valerie moved into it voluntarily, smiling even wider as she closed her eyes and saw the strobe lights penetrate her eyelids.  
"The Pied Piper, we're all his subjects, move even if you don't know the dance steps. . ."

Valerie stumbled slightly and fell into Phantom's arms, but he simply caught her as if he'd been expecting it. Maybe he had, Valerie wouldn't put it past the dead teen.  
"Get funky by all accounts, now, make your way to the dance floor and bounce. . ."

Phantom smiled down at her and pulled her upright, surprising her by fake falling into her. She pulled him u and fake fell on him again, not even noticing as she fell into step with the beat. At each 'bounce' they swung back and forth into the others arms.  
Bounce, bounce, bounce. . . let me see ya, bounce, bounce, bounce. . . everybody just bounce, bounce, bounce. . . I wanna see ya bounce, bounce. . . everybody just bounce tonight, man, come on!"

Valerie smiled as the last notes vanished from memory. Ember really had a good voice. Maybe if she wasn't trying for world domination all the time she'd actually do well as a singer. She had good stage presence, talent, and motivation. . . now if only she wasn't a ghost. . .

Phantom leaned over and whispered in Valerie's ear. "I hate to break up the party, but Dani's gone. . . again. . . and so is Youngblood."

Valerie looked at him. "So?"

Phantom huffed. "So, I'm worried about her. Can we go look for her?"

Valerie stared in disbelief. "This mansion is huge, and you want to look for a single pre-teen with a knack for being invisible?"

Phantom rolled his glowing eyes. "I know where she is. . . sort of. It's a connection thing, kind of like playing hot and cold. Right now, we're cold, but not like other-side-of-the-world cold."

Valerie sighed. He was pestering her, so she supposed that she could just check. "Fine." She discreetly stood up and walked towards the door. As they were leaving, she just barely heard someone behind her saying, "Ash, Clavier, and Dusk, come to the microphone. You're up."

"But there's only one microphone!"

Phantom quietly shut the door behind them and the sound was cut off. "Ok. . ." He breathed, closing his eyes. His pale white glow spread out through the air as if trying to pull Dani towards him. His eyes flashed open again.

"She's this way." Phantom said, and spun on his heels to stalk down the corridor, eyes occasionally closing as he tried to lock in on Dani. Valerie followed a few feet behind, wary of the glow that swept before her. She had no clue what it would do if it touched her, but until she knew for sure it was harmless she wasn't going near it. When Phantom stopped suddenly she nearly fell over in an attempt to avoid the sweeping tendrils, and one passed right over her head. Phantom turned towards her, eyes still closed.

"She's in there." He said, gesturing to a door set in the wall. He opened the door to reveal a closet filled with suits, but no Dani. Valerie raised her eyebrows.

"Really? Where?"

Phantom opened his eyes and looked around. "I don't understand. . . she _feels_ like she's right there." He said, pointing to a very specific area of wall. Then he paused. "No. . . not right there. . . _beyond_ there. . ."

He stepped in and Valerie followed, pulling the door closed behind them with a soft click. Phantom padded over the wall and pulled away a few suits, revealing a small hidden door.

"Trust _Vlad_ to have a closet in his closet." Muttered Phantom, uttering the name like a cuss word. Valerie agreed with the sentiment, and reached for the door handle. She cracked the door open just a little, and to her surprise it didn't creek. In her house that would have been impossible, but it looked like Vlad had had every door oiled very well. Voices leaked from the crack, one belonging to Dani and one to Youngblood.

"So, what's your real name?" Dani asked. Valerie had to strain to hear Youngblood so she opened the door a bit more.

"Tony."

"And your last name?"

"It's actually Youngblood. Weird, I know, but it's still kinda fitting." Through the crack in the door Valerie could see Youngblood and Dani sitting on the floor, Dani leaning her head on Youngblood's shoulder, apparently very interested in what he had to say.

"So, why're you against my cousin?" She asked. Youngblood shrugged with the shoulder that Dani wasn't leaning on.

"Dunno. I'm just kinda goofing off, I never actually expect any of my schemes to work very well. Maybe when I'm tired of being the villain I'll join him. What're _you_ doing when you're not at a slumber party?"

Even though Valerie couldn't see her face, Dani had a smile in her voice. "Oh, just kinda goofing off." She lifted her head off Youngblood's shoulder. "Hey, Tony, have you ever dated someone?"

Youngblood shook his head. "Nah. You?"

Dani smiled. "I _might_ have a boyfriend now." When Youngblood turned to ask who it was, Dani kissed him full on the lips. Youngblood looked surprised for a few seconds, then he sighed and closed his eyes.

Valerie shut the door and turned to Phantom. He was kneeling beside her, gaping at the door, flat-out stunned. Valerie raised her eyebrows. "What, like you haven't ever kissed someone in a broom closet?"

Phantom shook his head. "No. . ."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "This is how it works." She said, and leaned in and kissed him.

**Me:** Aw. . . so cute. . .

*silence*

Hey, where did all the characters go? Oh, yeah, that's right, they're all kissing each other. And before you complain that Valerie is being OOC, there's an explanation in the next chapter. So don't bother me.

*looks at Youngblood and Dani*

Aw. . . who _doesn't_ love that pairing? . . .don't answer that. I actually know. My brother hates that pairing, he says it makes no sense 'cause Youngblood is 'over 100 years old'. I say that's probably not true, since he acts like he's from more recent times. If it helps, I _tried_ to make Youngblood less evil. He really _is_ just goofing off. Did you notice that when he kidnaped all the adults, he didn't really _do_ anything bad? He just flew around in his ship, nothing major. He probably would've used the ship to raid the ice cream parlors or something. And for the sake of argument, let's say that Youngblood is twelve like Dani. Bye now! Review so I can let the little lovebirds breathe again!


	14. Chapter 14

To Jade Wraith: You desperately need a fanfiction account. Then I could just PM you the following:

SONGS IN ORDER

Can't be tamed, Miley Cirus

Halfway gone, Lifehouse

Bang bang bang, Christina Perri

Special thanks to Easternbluebird and sarahhaley!

**Disclaimer:** Let's say this slowly. . . I. . . Do. . . Not. . . Own. . . Danny. . . Phantom. . .

Valerie felt Phantom's mouth against hers and tried not to hurl, but when she pulled back from the shortest kiss in the history of the universe the look on Phantom's face was completely worth it. Plus, she might have gotten Dani out of trouble, so, score!

"Come on, lover-boy." She said, and grabbed his wrist as she dragged him down the hallway. She didn't want to interrupt Dani, it kind of reminded her of something her dad would do.

When they reached the room she dragged Phantom over to the now replaced couch. He still hadn't snapped out of his stupor, so Valerie turned to Ember.

"What did we miss?"

Ember rolled her eyes. "Not much. Ash, Clavier, and Dusk were talking about how the heck they were all supposed to do one song, then Vlad showed up so we chased him out, and now we can't find the TV remote."

"I found it!" Ash yelled. She held up a sleek black remote that looked suspiciously sticky.

"Where was it?" Valerie asked. Ash grinned.

"In the bowl we used for making cookie dough."

_That explains it_. Valerie thought. She decided it was best not to ask why it was even in there. Some things were better off unknown. Ash quickly flipped on the TV.

"There's still only one microphone." Ash said. "And I don't like this song very much."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Everyone else sang the song they were told to sing, you can too. You just don't have to like it."

"And you can just swap off on microphone duty!" Ember snapped. Dusk sighed and took the microphone, and the music began.

"Right, Right, turn off the lights. . ."

The screen turned black, but it was the blackness that surrounded Dusk. A small puff of light escaped her onscreen mouth as she gently breathed out, and the light illuminated her bright blue eyes. They lit up the screen for the amount of time it took for Dusk to toss the microphone to Clavier.

"We're going to lose our minds tonight. . ."

Dusk's eyes snapped shut and the screen slowly lit up to reveal a cafeteria in some distant school. Clavier (onscreen) was watching as a 'popular' girl dumped a tray of food over an 'unpopular' girl. Clavier stood up and flopped down next to the girl, leaning back with her elbows resting on the table. She smiled at the girl and sang along with the song in an attempt to cheer her up. The first girl looked nervous while Clavier was relaxed, leaning back as if she owned the school, although the 'popular' girl would beg to differ.

"What's the dealio?"

The screen cut to a group of kids getting a room ready for a party. They weren't making much progress until Dusk burst in, followed by Ash. Ash casually flicked her hands upward and small balls of flame set the dust in the corners on fire. After about two seconds the place was spotless.

Dusk caught the microphone with practiced ease and sang the next line into it. She was grinning. "I love when it's all too much. . ."

Onscreen Dusk threw her arms up and the entire screen lit up with multi-colored strobe lights. As she gestured back and forth, light spinning around her hands, the lights grew brighter and more vibrant until. . .

"5a.m. turn the radio up. . ."

The same girl from earlier was wandering through her room as if trying to find the source of the music. She picked up her radio, the most likely culprit, but it was unplugged. She turned behind her and noticed that Clavier was on the television behind her.

"Where's the rock and roll?"

The girl picked up a remote and flipped through the channels but the only thing it did was alter the outfits of the two girls. After flipping them through punk, goth, and finally stopping on bright pink, Clavier made a gag face and reached out of the television to grab the remote. She casually flicked them both to rock star outfits, her black and white outfit morphing to another of the same color scheme. One hand bore a fingerless black glove with a white music note while the other carried a white ring embossed with black scoring. Her skirt flared out a little and her shoes melted into black kitten heels. Her shirt's sleeves puffed up before flattening against her and dripping as if liquid, dropping streamers of notes to the ground.

"Party crasher, penny snatcher. . ."

Dusk appeared onscreen, lighting up the rest of the room behind the other two girls. Ash appeared with her, grinning, as it was revealed that they were standing in the room the party was planned to be in. Dusk's outfit had been lit up with neon edging and Ash's two outfits had sewed themselves into each other, becoming a strange ethereal fashion statement to turn heads.

"Call me up if you're a gangster. . ."

Clavier beckoned to the girl, holding out her hand, but the girl was seriously freaking out and she ran.

"Why so serious?"

Dusk grinned as she used her powers to the max. The entire screen dimmed to black, and so did the lights in the room. The only thing that could be heard was Dusk singing the next line.

"So raise your glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways. . ."

Dusk flung out her hands and light shot from her fingertips, quickly joined by fire from Ash's hands. Clavier slammed both hands down on the air in front of her, piano keys appearing where her hands touched them. She tapped out the beat with hands that were mere blurs, adding in backbeats and melodies that might or might not have actually belonged to the song. The girl on the outside of the screen reached the door to her room, but it opened to the cafeteria and suddenly she was back at the table in the cafeteria with Clavier. Clavier tossed her a champagne glass and, with a large amount of flair, filled it up with orange soda. She poured one for herself and spun it between her fingers, lifting it heavenwards.

"All my underdogs. . ."

In the surface of the drink there was a reflection of Dusk and Ash. The screen filtered out the background until only they were left. Ash yanked a jet-black microphone out of the darkness surrounding Dusk and sang into it, icy blue flames licking up the sides of the amplifier. She jumped backwards and landed on a giant black speaker with neon blue flames on the sides, grinning as she spun and the flames licked up her outfit, changing it to an electric blue dress with only one sleeve and a ragged hem. The flames on her feet became thigh-high boots shaped like flames.

"We will never be, never be anything but loud!"

Onscreen Dusk pulled a drumstick out of midair and slammed it downwards. A drum appeared underneath it and then another and another until there was a whole drum set covered in blinking lights. It was obviously a memory, but it was simply amazing to watch. As Dusk spun to slam down one last note, the spot where she hit rippled the air and changed reality so that the same girl from earlier was sitting at the table nervously sipping her soda and having none of the exuberance of Clavier.

"And nitty gritty, dirty little freaks. . ."

The popular girl from earlier snatched the glass from her and dumped it over her head. the girl's long black hair shone from the wetness and dangled in front of her face, hiding one eye. Clavier casually dumped her glass on the popular girl, smiling as her curly blonde perm immediately became so many tangles.

"Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass. . ."

Clavier and her friend raced down the hallway with angry jocks in pursuit. Clavier was grinning as she fiddled with her floating piano keys, but the other girl was panicking.

"Just come on and come on and raise your glass. . ."

The girl and Clavier raced into a classroom and shut the door before slumping into their seats. The teacher walked in right after her, followed by some bored-looking students as they trickled in from lunch. As the teacher began to teach, the girl noticed that the television in the corner of the room was displaying Ash and Dusk as they sang, but no one else seemed to notice except for Clavier. Clavier smiled and dragged the girl into the television. As soon as they were inside other people streamed in, this time from the room's doors. The girl that Clavier was pulling with her looked as if she was about to barf from nervousness.

"Slam, slam, oh hot-"

Clavier frantically looked around and then slammed her hands down in front of her on her personal keyboard to bleep out Dusk's next words. Or, word. Singular. At everyone's stares Clavier looked away with a 'who, me? No, I'm an angel' look.

"What part of party don't you understand?"

Clavier grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her onto the dance floor, and the girl nervously began to nod to the beat after double checking that no one was watching. Clavier gave her a nudge and the girl, blushing, began to sway back and forth in time to the fast-paced notes that Clavier was playing.

"Wish you'd just _freak out_."

Dusk, grinning, nudged Ash. Ash clearly wasn't enjoying having to sing, so she just walked over to the desert table. On the way over she noticed a sign that read, 'this week's challenge: eat your ice cream cake without using your hands!'.

"_Freak out already!"_

Dusk yelled from the other side of the room, and Ash rolled her eyes. She flicked her hand upwards and a plate of ice cream cake floated towards her. Ash spun her hands as if making a clay snake and the ice cream spun itself into a sphere. Ash took the cheep paper plate and rolled it into a cone shape before balancing the sphere of ice cream on top. She raised her eyebrows at Dusk and mouthed, 'I love loopholes' before licking the frosting off the top.

"Can't stop, comin' in hot."

Dusk sang, and out on the dance floor Clavier and her friend were having a lot of fun. Her friend was bobbing up and down and nodding her head from side to side. Clavier noticed someone handing out name-tags and sharpies so she ran over to grab one of each. She held it out to her friend and she smiled before scrawling down her name.

_Crescendo._

"I should be locked up right on the spot."

Two fully armed policemen barged in and Ash rolled her eyes before causing the rest of the ice cream cake to rise and fly after them. The policemen immediately ran out and several partygoers snagged the flying treats.

"It's so on right now."

The policemen burst in through another door and Ash grinned, giving chase. several ice machines burst open, spilling their contents and causing the police to slide across the floor into a makeover booth. Ash grinned before freezing the door shut behind them.

"_It's so-_"

Clavier played several darting chords to drown out the swear once more. Youngblood was beginning to look annoyed.

"Party crasher, penny snatcher, call me up if you're a gangsta. . . don't be fancy, just get dancy. Why so serious?"

Crescendo was grabbing the hands of other people standing in the corners and not dancing. She pulled them around the room and they joined hands with others until there was a long chain of kids racing through the room. They reached the pool of icy water and every single one let go of each others arms. Crescendo ran forwards and carefully slid down a ramp to meet up with Clavier, grinning as she twirled as if in zero gravity. Clavier smiled back as the other kids joined her.

"So raise your glass if you are wrong. . ."

Ash shrugged and slid along with the last of the kids, hopping onto the raining of the ramp and vaulting off the end. She landed next to Crescendo and Clavier, executing a perfect twirl before causing a flare of fire to burst out in her palm.

"In all the right ways, all my underdogs. . ."

The popular kid from earlier was laughing at them, but Ash just glared and gave a small glance to Clavier. It spoke volumes. They both hated whoever this kid was.

"We will never be, never be anything but loud and nitty gritty, dirty little freaks. . ."

Dusk flung the microphone into the air, summoning another from pure light. she spun it and it became a white lightsaber. Everyone except the numerous A-list crowd were impressed, especially when Dusk used the futuristic weapon to carve a set of steps from the stage to the dance floor. She danced down them, tossing the microphone/lightsaber to Ash. Ash took one look at it and smiled.

"Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass! Just come on and come on and raise your glass!"

Ash raised her hand and a glass made out of ice appeared in it. She loosely held it and casually spun the lightsaber so that it shot out a river of light. She caught some of it in the glass, sipping it like it was actually a liquid. She closed her eyes in concentration and an icy glass appeared above each of the kids on the dance floor. Crescendo snatched hers out of the air and the others followed suit. Ash threw her hand upwards in a gesture akin to a salute and every other kid joined her.

"Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass! Just come on and come on and raise your glass!"

Dusk raised her hand and every neon light spilled liquid florescence. Every kid on the dance floor rushed to scoop up their own color, laughing as they dripped glowing light and toasted their differences. The screen became too bright to look at and Crescendo, Clavier, Dusk and Ash fell.

"So if you're too school for cool. . ."

The four girls were dropped into the same classroom full of the same bored students. The teacher had her hands braced on her desk, lecturing the four girls. Dusk took a deep breath and breathed out as hard as she could, the white light curling around everything in the classroom. The teacher became a DJ leaning on the records, and every student jumped up, their uniforms becoming colorful outfits as the walls turned black with millions of strobe lights decorating every surface. Crescendo glanced back and forth, noticing that none of the kids from earlier were present. She carefully gestured to Clavier and snuck out through a side door.

"And you're treated like a fool. . ."

Every A-lister in the school were standing around the table that all the kids were sitting at. They were laughing at the so-called 'geeks' for having fun at the party. Clavier and Crescendo sat down looking annoyed.

"You can choose to let it go. . . we can always, we can always, party on our own. . ."

Dusk and Ash, back at the party, frantically glanced around. Everyone else disappeared, including the DJ. The music cut out and the three were left standing in the middle of a deserted and empty hall. Even the strobe lights had vanished. The door at the end of the hallway was lit up, the same one that Crescendo and Clavier had gone through.

"So raise your. . .!"

Crescendo stood up and began yelling at the popular girl from the party. Clavier joined her, rapping out notes on the piano. As she tapped each key it flew towards the A-listers like a swarm of angry bees.

"So raise your glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways. . ."

Ash and Dusk reached the cafeteria and glanced around before walking up and standing next to their friends. Dusk casually gathered a sphere of light around her hand and rolled it towards the A-listers. They quickly backed away and Ash froze the floor beneath them, causing them to fall backwards. Seeing this, several other stood up to join the four girls.

"All my underdogs, we will never be, never be anything but loud. . ."

Those that were still sitting down were pulled over by eager friends until the last one jumped onto the table and walked over to the edge. She jumped down, landing right in front of the popular girl. Clavier applauded.

"And nitty, gritty. . ."

The rest of the crowd joined in, clapping as they advanced on the populars. The populars slowly backed away.

"Dirty little freaks!"

The A-lister's head boy ran for it, and the popular girl and her crowd of girls followed in swift pursuit. Every single A-lister raced for the exit and Crescendo ran up and slammed the door behind them.

"So raise your glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways, all my underdogs. . ."

Dusk blew out the lights, the bright flash lighting up glowing strips of florescence along the walkway. Ash raised her hands and pillars of blue flames leapt up in the corners, dazzling everyone. Clavier jumped up onto a table, her momentum carrying it over t the wall. From there she jumped to another. . . and another. . . until all the tables had been cleared and there was a makeshift dance floor. Crescendo yanked a couple of wires out of a loudspeaker and threw them to Clavier, who plugged them into her piano and spun out a beat.

"We will never be, never be anything but loud, and nitty gritty, dirty little freaks! Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass!"

Everyone in the cafeteria started dancing, the lights pulsing to the beat and the flames growing ever brighter. Dusk spun, light flying off her, and Ash was grudgingly dancing too. She was enjoying herself, however much it annoyed her.

"Just come on and come on and raise your glass! Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass for me! Just come on and come on and raise your glass for me!"

The entire screen lit up and faded to blackness, Dusk's eyes lighting up the screen before they slowly slid closed. . .

Valerie smiled. Three more ghosts who could sing. What else could the night possibly hold for surprises?

"Let's play Twister!" Youngblood yelled.

"I second that!" Dani added.

_Apparently that,_ Valerie thought.

**Me:** This should be fun. . .

**Danny:** Are you forgetting that ghosts can do the whole stretch thing?

**Me:** No, but I'm remembering that Valerie can't.

**Danny:** You are EVIL.

**Me:** Hey, I got Valerie to kiss you, didn't I?

**Danny:** Sigh. . . *falls over in a lovesick faint*

**Valerie:** You will DIE for that.

**Me:** I'm already dead, and you don't have any anti-vampire weapons.

**Valerie:** That's what you think. *Holds up gun that shoots stakes*

**Me:** Oh. . . I'm in trouble.

**Valerie:** Yep.

**Me:** Would now be a good time to run screaming from the room?

**Valerie:** Yep.

**Me:** AAAAHHHHHH!


	15. Chapter 15

**BVQA: **I escaped! Hurray for me!

**Danny:** How the heck did you get away?

**BVQA: **Well. . . you know how Vlad's ghost form kinda looks like a vampire?

**Danny:** You didn't. . . did you?

**BVQA:** Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

**Danny: **You demented Vampire queen!

**Brother #1 (TKDninjaofawesomeness): **According to a quiz I made up to determine your vampire race (dungeons and dragons) she is actually a water vampire sha-shaman, either endowed or not endowed by Orcus. (she wouldn't answer question number 9) And yes, I just made a bunch of completely obscure D&D references. : )

**Danny:** Uh. . .

**Disclaimer:** If you say I own DP I'll get brother #1 to go explain exactly what that meant. In detail. Over and over.

Valerie pulled out the Twister box and tugged out the tarp-like game-board. It had taken _forever_ to find it, but eventually she'd uncovered it in the basement, covered in dust. Phantom floated over.

"You found it? Great." Without even asking, the ghost gripped her wrist and pulled her up through the ceiling and into the lounge. Valerie frowned. That ghost was getting a little too comfy with her for his own good.

Some little voice in her head reminded her exactly who kissed who. Valerie slapped it silly. She slapped it some more when it reminded her how much she'd liked it, despite the fact that the person being kissed was a ghost.

Dani and Youngblood nearly bowled Valerie and Phantom over when they phased into the room. There were quick hugs before Youngblood snatched the canvas from Valerie and unfolded it. He glanced at the colored dots before looking around the room.

"Collective vote, who thinks this board is a _little_ too easy?" He asked. Valerie and Phantom were the only ones to vote no. Everyone else raised their hands. Youngblood grinned. "Ok. . . who's got scissors?"

Five minutes later, the room was strewn with colored dots, all roughly hacked from their original housing. Youngblood was grinning like a maniac. Valerie was petrified. This was not going to end well. . .

LINE BREAK

Valerie sighed as she collapsed on the couch. She'd been training for months, but her agility _still_ couldn't stand up to a ghost's. The highlight of the game had been when Phantom and herself had reached for the same red dot and he'd turned his hand intangible so that they could share the space. He was really cute. . .

Valerie shook her head to clear it. That voice in the back of her mind was the voice of _treason_. Treason!

_Well, he is._ It said.

_Shut up!_ She snapped.

Phantom sat down next to her, rubbing his arm. "I would've stayed in longer if Ember hadn't stepped on my arm. _Ow_. . ."

Valerie glanced out at the game. "Oh, dear. . . Phantom, you're not going to like what Dani and Youngblood are doing. . ."

Phantom looked up and his eyes flared an even brighter green. "That punk will _die_, if that's even possible."

Youngblood and Dani were standing on the exact same square, their legs up to their knees taking up the same space. Not only that, but they were pulling the same hand intangibility trick as Phantom had only a few moments before. Only this seemed a little more. . . intimate.

Dani and Youngblood were in L–O–V–E. Head over heels. Maybe it wouldn't last, but Phantom seemed determined to cut it as short as possible.

Valerie wondered if she wanted that too.

**BVQA:** Yeah, yeah, it's short, but I've got a few small catastrophes in my life right now.

**Danny:** You mean your nook being broken and having the slightest bit of writers block?

**BVQA:** Those count!

**Danny:** I'm half dead, fight ghosts, get injured, and flunk class on a daily basis.

**BVQA:** Oh, will you shuddap?

**Danny:** Ok, this is totally against my better judgement, but what if you asked your reviewers for ideas? That might get you out of your writer's block.

**BVQA:** You ask. I'm going to be running 'cause Valerie the vampire slayer just showed up. . .

**Danny:** Reviews will be thrown at the writer's block!

**BVQA:** AAAHHHH!


	16. Chapter 16

**BVQA:** Thank you for your thoughtful reviews!

**Danny:** Yeah, thank you for putting me through even MORE torture.

**BVQA:** But Danny, they're your PHANS! They care about you! They would NEVER want to see ANYTHING bad happen to you!

**Danny:** And I suppose you're a 'Phan'?

**BVQA:** But of corse.

**Danny:** And I suppose that ISN'T a chainsaw you're hiding behind your back?

**BVQA:** It's for VALERIE, not YOU.

**Danny:** How. . . comforting.

**Disclaimer:** I wouldn't need a chainsaw if I owned DP.

Valerie sank back into the couch and felt her eyelids start to droop. It was odd how you never noticed that you were tired until you stopped moving around so much. It was an odd slumber party characteristic that was both annoying and funny. . . if it happened to others. Not so much if it happened to you. Falling asleep at a slumber party was like begging for a curly mustache to be drawn in permanent marker on your face.

Valerie drew her knees up to her chin and shut her eyes. The metal suit was cool to the touch, but it warmed up almost instantly and reflected the heat back into your skin. Valerie leaned into the couch cushions and suddenly realize she was tipping forward. Her head settled down on Phantom's shoulder. He was surprisingly warm, like her suit. Valerie was too sleepy to bring herself to care that he was her worst enemy. Phantom made a small, surprised noise before freezing up. Then he gently lifted Valerie and moved her over so that she was lying down, back to the pillows, back of her head against his shoulder. Valerie felt gloved hands place a blanket on top of her. Then Phantom leaned back into the couch cushions and stopped moving. Valerie supposed he could be asleep, if ghosts even slept. A few warm, comfortable, and sleepy moments passed. Then a harsh noise interrupted Valerie's doze.

"Sleepers! We have sleepers over here!"

"Well, wake them up, dipstick."

"Yeah, wake them up."

Valerie felt two hands roughly shake her by the shoulders. She didn't open her eyes. Instead, she flailed out with her arms. She felt one hand connect with someone's face, and then there was a muffled ow that sounded like it came from Youngblood. Phantom shifted like someone was trying to wake him up, but with a sleepy murmur he fell still again. Valerie felt attempts to wake them stop, and sensed the intruders leaving.

"They're out of it."

"_Way_ out of it."

"This calls for drastic measures."

"Very drastic."

There was silence for a few moments, then Valerie heard giggling. She frowned, then felt something very cold and very wet hit the outside of her suit. The heating coils took over, keeping her warm and dry, but Phantom wasn't so lucky. He sat up gagging (apparently he'd been hit in the face) and Valerie found herself tossed forwards. Her hands shot out and she caught herself, eyes slowly opening. She dragged her gaze upwards, over a pair of silvery padded boots and a pair of green and black sneakers. Black pants and green pants. A T-shirt and a jumpsuit top. The grinning faces of Dani and Youngblood. Ember stood behind them holding a bucket dripping water. Noticing the eyes on her her hair shrank somewhat and she dropped the bucket to point at the two younger kids.

"Don't look at me. It was their idea!"

Youngblood and Dani glared at her. "It was _not!"_

Ember glared right back. "It was!"

Dani picked up the bucket. "Deluge _totally_ suggested it."

Deluge glanced over from the other side of the room. "I was _joking_. Can't anyone get when I'm _joking?"_

"Apparently not." Phantom said dryly. "Dani? Youngblood? We're having a chat."

Both twelve-year-olds blinked. "Huh?"

That was all they had time for before Phantom grabbed their wrists and dragged them from the room, Valerie following. She shut the door behind them and Phantom turned to look at her.

"You take this nut, I'll take this one." He said, and gently pushed Dani in her direction. Valerie smirked as Phantom yanked Youngblood into a side room. Something told her that this had to do with more than just the bucket of water. . .

Dani looked up at Valerie with Bambi eyes. Valerie sighed.

"Fine, but I get to listen too." She said. Dani grinned. She and Valerie strode over to the door and placed their ears against it.

"Heh, sorry about the water. . ." Came Youngblood's muffled voice.

"This isn't about that. That was just a convenient way to get you away from Danielle. What exactly is going on between you and her?"

"Uh, nothing?" It came out as a question. Dani face palmed.

"He's doomed." She murmured. Valerie nodded. From beyond the door there was muttering that even she couldn't pick out, then a flash of green, and finally footsteps.

"They're coming!" Valerie hissed, and yanked Dani back from the door. It opened and, thinking quickly, Valerie immediately assumed a chastising tone.

"And don't let it happen again!" She said, then turned to the doorway. Youngblood and Phantom were standing in the doorway with entirely different expressions on their faces. Phantom looked quite happy and Youngblood looked petrified, all color gone from his face. Noticing that Valerie and Dani were staring, the color returned in the form of a blush.

"Uh. . . cool, let's go back." He said.

But he and Dani still held hands as they opened the door.


	17. Chapter 17

I have nothing to say. . . except this:

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own DP. What is so hard about this?

When Phantom, Valerie, Dani and Youngblood re-entered the lounge, there was a rush of noise coming from everybody except Ember.

"Poem! Poem! Poem!"

Valerie raised her eyebrows. "Um, what?"

Ember sighed. "Every year, I write a poem to share at the Eternal Slumber Party. I thought maybe they'd forgotten about it, but I guess not." She raised her voice to address the group of glowing kids. "Alright, fine, I'll read it, but no more bugging me after this!"

LINE BREAK THANK YOU EASTERNBLUEBIRD!

Maddy Fenton carefully navigated her way through Vlad's mansion. She and Jack had been receiving ecto-signals on their ghost radar all night, and they'd finally tracked them to this place. Why Vlad was nowhere to be found, Maddy had no idea. She had a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with the large mass of ghosts that her scanners were detecting in his lounge. As Maddy neared it, she began hearing a small, chanting voice that grew larger with every step. She meticulously picked apart the voice until she found words in them.

"Hello, we are the children!

We scare our kind a lot.

With horrid pranks and whiney fights,

Who says that they should not?

We're high on sugar, candy too,

and those with sense will run.

These eggs are slimy, rotten goo.

Their splatting should be fun!

Toilet paper, super glue, and movie night galore.

What fun a slumber party is!

There's more mayhem in store!

Consider how we mustn't clean,

This awful mess we've made.

The landlord here is really mean,

A fruitloop, we're afraid.

Pizza's stacked upon the counter,

A cookie's burned into the stove.

A hundred thousand candy bars

Make up a treasure trove.

The pillow's spilled their stuffing and

The wall now sports a dent.

They're remnants of a pillow fight,

An hour finely spent.

The girls all brought their makeup.

The boys have video games.

While powdered black flows from a brush,

A king his kingdom saves.

Well, rescuing a princess is a very hungry job,

And soon both guinea-pigs and heros

The kitchen quickly mob.

A flash of light!

A burst of speed!

The ice cream now is gone!

The house receives a short reprieve. . .

But the kids won't be gone long!"

Maddy blinked as the rhyme ended. That was. . . odd. But it had offered enough sound cover that she and Jack had been able to reach the lounge. She gently pushed the door open, but the room was empty. She glanced at her ecto-radar. And nearly screamed. According to the glowing dial, the ghosts were all around her. She shook as she felt something cool and invisible brush past her. Then the voice began again.

"We, who are immortal,

Have souls as bright as flame.

Consign ourselves into the dark

Just to rise again."

The feeling came again, but this time a cold hand clamped around Maddy's wrist and she was pulled through the wall. She clamped her eyes tightly shut, not wanting to see as she passed through walls at the not-so-tender mercies of a filthy ghost. . . more than one, if Jack was coming too.

"We, who are eternal,

Have no life of our own,

But stay a while with those who do,

To reap what we have sewn."

Maddy felt cool night air against her skin. She cracked her eyes open and realized she was flying. The ghost holding her was no longer invisible and she turned to see Danny Phantom holding her wrist and guiding her through the night. She found that she was unable to see who was holding Jack, but also found herself happy that she was being held by Phantom so that Jack wasn't. That experience would probably scare him to death.

"We, who clutch existence,

Have power like the sun.

We'll never leave earth far behind,

When all is said and done."

Maddy wondered where they were being taken, but suddenly saw Fentonworks looming in the distance. She realized that maybe, just maybe, the ghosts were taking them home. But that was ridiculous. Right? Why would Danny Phantom, ghost kid supreme, get his crew to drag them, kicking and screaming, to the safety of their own rooms? It made no sense.

"We, who are unnatural,

Have glows of dusky light.

We'll smile and fade 'till nothing's there,

And laugh into the night."

Maddy was unceremoniously dropped into her bed, and finally could see the ghosts that had held Jack. One was an average-looking young boy ghost with green hair, and the other was a girl who looked strangely like Danny Phantom. There were no other _visible_ ghosts, but Maddy knew there were probably others hanging around. At least one, the one speaking the odd rhyme.

"Goodnight to Maddy Fenton,

And Jack of orange day-glo.

We bid you rest in wondrus dreams,

We'll fight you. . . but tomorrow!"

**BVQA:** Well, that was fun. Sorry about all the poemy-ness, there was a power outage over here and I get all poetic when I'm bored out of my skull.

**Danny:** Ugh. I will never, ever be able to forget what you _didn't_ put in here. Too. Much. Rhyme!

**BVQA:** Hey, be thankful I don't get bored too often.


	18. Chapter 18

**BVQA:** I'm back with more awesomeity!

**Danny:** Not again. . .

**BVQA:** Special thanks to Midnight Phantasma**!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own DP. Stop bothering me asking if you can borrow it!

Valerie watched as Ember dragged a phone out into the center of the room.

"Ok, prank call time!" She said. "It's a tradition! First stop, ghost king!"

Phantom paled. "Um, what?"

Ember smiled. "We slipped a cell phone into Pariah's pocket while you were fighting him, dipstick. And since he's now powerless in that sarcophagus of forever sleep- we call it the casket of naptime- now's the perfect time to prank call him!"

LINE BREAK

Pariah Dark sat in. . . well, the dark. The dark emptiness of infinite space crammed into a small box. He wasn't sleeping, nor was he awake. He floated in a sort of trance, lucid dreams imposed on real life. The silence was deafening. . .

Until, suddenly and in a very undignified manor, Michel Jackson's 'I'm Bad' began blaring from somewhere close by. For a second he stood, frozen, then quietly and with as much dignity as could be summoned under the circumstances, and let the smallest of green flames light up his finger as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the cell phone. He supposed he should wait a few moments to make sure that the person- or, more likely, ghost- on the other end of the line wouldn't think he was _that_ familiar with modern technology. To be quite honest, he could quite probably be filed under 'techno-geek', something he was desperately trying to avoid.

Finally, Pariah opened the phone up and lifted it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is the repairman. I hear you need your nightlight fixed."

Pariah stared into the blackness. He tried really hard to convince himself that he had any idea what was going on. He focused on trying to will this problem away.

"What? Who is this?"

"The repairman. Your mommy called and said you need your nightlight fixed or you won't sleep during naptime. She said naptime started about a month ago and you _still_ won't go to bed."

Pariah carefully pressed a few buttons and traced the call. The phone being called from was registered to the elder half ghost, Vlad, but the voice was not his. And the voices in the background. . . the giggling sounded almost like. . .

"Sir Daniel Phantom? Do you have Youngblood, Ember and. . . oh, Gods, the Eternal Slumber Party was tonight, wasn't it?"

The giggling was all he needed for an answer. Pariah immediately determined that the time for threats, however empty they may be, was now.

"Foolish children! I will destroy each molecule of your forms and shred your consciousnesses with my bare hands!"

"Aw, did the baby wake up on the wrong side of the sarcophagus of eternal sleep?"

_When in doubt, threaten the spleen._ Pariah thought.

"I will tear your spleen from it's housing and strangle your brain with it!"

"Uh, ew. Do you even know where the spleen is?"

Voices from far behind the halfling joined in.

"Of corse not. No one knows where the spleen is."

"What's a spleen?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"It's a wet, slimy organ that probably serves some purpose, but it's hard to imagine what."

Pariah took his chance to hang up on the strange call and go back to staring at the emptiness. Somehow he preferred it.

**BVQA:** Yeah, it's really short. Sorry about that. I've got a gazillion stories going and the plot bunnies are attacking in strong numbers.


	19. Chapter 19

**BVQA:** Hello, readers! Allow me to grace you with my writing magnificence!

**Danny:** Wow, _someone's_ full of themselves.

**BVQA:** I'm conceited when I'm happy. It's a package deal. Let the writing commence!

Valerie smiled at the scattered giggles that still echoed through the room. She'd stopped laughing long ago, but some of the younger ghosts were still having fits. She figured they might continue well through the night. Prank calling the ghost king had been fun, but Valerie knew that the thing that really had them going was the spleen comment. What was the spleen, anyway?

Valerie accessed the databank dictionary in her suit and searched 'spleen'. She quickly read the answer.

_spleen |splēn|_

_ noun_

_ Anatomy: an abdominal organ involved in the production and removal of blood cells in most vertebrates and forming part of the immune system._

Valerie blinked. Ok. . . she was slightly more confused than before now. She thought bone marrow made blood cells, and weren't white blood cells part of the immune system? What did it mean by _most_ vertebrates? Where was the 'abdomen'? Her stomach?

She shook herself out of her confused daze, and turned to Ember.

"Who are we calling next? Technis?"

Ember paused, then glanced back and forth and leaned forward so that she didn't have to speak as loudly. "Technis wired his phone so that anyone calling him would be zapped with whatever electricity was in the power lines. _I'm_ not calling him, but if you can find someone who _will_ that'll be fine."

Valerie sighed. "Can't think of anyone."

Ember nodded. "Pity. Anyone else you can think of to prank call?"

Phantom apparently heard this and tapped Ember on the shoulder. "I might know someone. . ."

LINE BREAK

Valerie stared at the phone in her hand. "I'm still not getting this. How is it that plugging that medallion into this phone and shutting of _your_ phone is going to get us anywhere other than your voicemail?"

Phantom smiled. "I'd explain, but it involves a lot of math and quantum physics."

Dani took this time to but in. "You got a 'D' in math and quantum physics is just a branch of science that deals with discrete, indivisible units of energy called quanta as described by the Quantum Theory. It's got nothing to do with time travel and alternate universes. Nice try, smart one."

Phantom scowled. "I'll explain later, ok? You'll need to hear the guy on the other end of that phone first."

Valerie raised an eyebrow, suspicious. "Why?"

Phantom sighed and looked away. Ember replied instead. "You just will. Look, it'll make sense in a second."

"Am I the only one who doesn't know this story?" Valerie snapped. Ember grinned.

"Pretty much, yeah."

Valerie sighed and watched Phantom punch in a number before handing Ember the phone. As it rang, he looked at Valerie and uttered words of caution.

"Don't listen to him. No matter what he says, he's powerless. Don't let him get to you."

Valerie had no time to respond before the phone was picked up. Instead of a customary 'hello', they were greeted with a rather rude,

"How did you get this number?"

Ember smiled. "Oh my God, it's Dan Phantom! We're all gonna die!"

This, of corse, set off the whole room screaming. Ember shrieked right along with them, until everyone suddenly stopped and she blinked as if suddenly realizing something. "Oh, wait, I forgot. He was beaten by a fourteen-year-old boy!"

The room filled with laughter. Even though Valerie didn't get the joke, she chuckled right along with everyone else. Everyone fell silent, though, when a voice like poison leaked out of the phone and filled the room.

"You think this is funny, do you? Ember, surely you recall how I destroyed your vocal chords with a mere shout. Youngblood, how did you like it when you heard that bones had been reduced from skeleton to dust? Johnny, how much did it hurt to be paralyzed for all eternity? Dusk, how was it when you were blinded, unable to see the brilliant lights you draw to you? Clavier, unable to hear even a note you made on that keyboard that always follows you around. Everyone lost something because of me, even _you_, Valerie. You were lucky not to see what happened to your father."

There was silence, then Youngblood piped up. "Um, is anyone else confused?"

Phantom let loose a chuckle. "Wrong reality, old man. You're still stuck in the past, remember?"

The whole room laughed loud enough to drown out the following threats from 'Dan', all except Valerie. For a few moments, she had been unable to breathe as she imagined something happening to her father. She was glad to see none of the ghosts took it seriously. Finally, the laughter died down, and she could hear Dan's annoyed hiss of a voice.

"You do realize it's the middle of the night, right? Not everyone remembers what time zone they're in when it's the middle of the night."

Phantom smiled. "That reminds me. If we had a fight to the death, would it be suicide or murder?"

There was silence on the phone for the longest time, then Dan finally responded. "What?"

Giggles erupted, growing louder when Phantom said, "I think we blew his brain."

Dan, of corse, went into a rage. "Your future is inevitable, boy! You cannot escape fate! Someday I will escape this weak and flimsy thermos and I will destroy you all!"

The box ghost mimicked him. "You cannot hold me in your _cylindrical_ container!"

"I despise you all!"

Phantom clutched his chest, pretending to be hurt. "I'm deeply offended, old man. You have serious problems with self esteem if you despise yourself!"

At this point there was a loud explosion from the other end of the phone and the line went dead.

"Well, guess he finally blew up the phone." Phantom said conversationally. "I'm going to go have a giggle attack in the closet. Ember, you explain the whole Dan situation to Red."

With that, Phantom shut himself in the soundproof closet. Ember sighed and turned to Valerie. "Alright Red, it's like this. . ."

**BVQA:** Contest time! If Sam had to date a ghost who _wasn't_ Danny, who would it be?

**Danny:** Why do you need to know this?

**BVQA:** Because the only problem I have with DannyxVal is that Sam doesn't get to be in love with anyone.


	20. Chapter 20

**BVQA:** I'm finally back with more. Enjoy!

Valerie sighed, resting her head on the arm of the couch. She had tried, tried _so_ hard not to look at Phantom differently when he'd emerged from the closet, but it had been impossible. Worse, he'd seen the look in her eyes and his had iced over. Any door she'd had to what he was really like was slammed shut. Before tonight, Valerie wouldn't have cared. But she'd seen enough of the real him to know that the taunts, the insults, and the hurt he'd thrown at her during their fights couldn't have been easy for him to dish out.

Her bad mood was complemented by the bickering of Ember and Youngblood, who seemed to be arguing over what movie to watch.

"Let's just watch all of them." Valerie muttered. No one listened. She hadn't expected them to. She'd just felt like saying it.

She let her head drop back against the couch and closed her eyes, drifting into a unintentional sleep. She wasn't far enough gone, however, that small details from the real world couldn't seep into her head. Her dream was her oddest yet. . .

Danny Phantom and Tucker Foley stood in the lair from Megamind. They were chatting, talking about. . . well, _her. _Her strength, weaknesses, and fighting style, but it seemed oddly. . . distant. They weren't talking about her, they were talking about the _idea_ of her. They seemed to be setting her up to _win_. Phantom glanced down at his watch.

"Gosh, I am running late. I have to go." He said, turning to leave.

Tucker glanced over, alarm scrawled across his face. "What? Where. . . where are you going? We have our debut battle with Valerie tomorrow morning. We haven't even looked at the hack I invented to boost her board so she can actually beat you."

Phantom shrugged. "You attend to the details. I have to. . . run a quick errand." It was obviously a lie, and Tucker realized this.

"You don't run errands. What's going on here?"

Phantom covered up his discomfort with indifference. "What?"

Tucker was on a roll. "Oh, wait a minute. Are you wearing Jean Paul Gaultier's Pour Homme?"

"It's just my natural musk. Now, where are the car keys?"

Tucker snatched them off of the table, hiding them behind his back. "This is about miss Gray, isn't it? You're going on a date with her!"

Valerie's invisible eyes rolled. As if she'd _ever_ go on a date with _him_.

_Yeah, you would_. Said a tiny part of her. She kicked it.

Phantom's expression was panicked. "No, my main man! Get out of town!" He said, lightly shoving Tucker to the side and trying the grab the car keys.

Tucker tossed them to his other hand. "Oh, this is bad, this is bad. You've fallen in love with her!"

Phantom scowled. "Give me the keys!" He snapped.

Tucker shook his head. "What happens when Valerie finds out who you _really_ are?"

Phantom smiled. "She will _never_ find out. That's the point of _lying_." He casually phased his hand straight through Tucker's chest, snatching the keys from his hand and pulling them out. "If I didn't know better, I'd say this was your first day of being my best friend. I'm good at keeping secrets."

Tucker scowled. "No! This has gone far enough!" He snapped, and snagged the keys. He grabbed a thermos from a nearby table and dropped them in.

Phantom rolled his eyes. "Oh, that was really grown up!"

Tucker ran behind a table covered in weapons. "Please, it's for your own good!"

"Oh, what do you know?" Phantom practically growled.

"I may not know much, but I do know this; the bad guy doesn't get the girl!" Tucker shouted.

"I'm not the bad guy!" Phantom screamed, and white rings of light formed around his waist. They spread upward, changing him into. . . Danny Fenton?

Valerie rolled over, frowning, and the dream changed.

Phantom was sitting across from her at the table where she'd gone on her first date with Danny. He was smiling Danny's smile, and the dim lights from the candles coated his hair with blackness. His eyes glimmered with a hidden electricity. He leaned forward, slowly, as if he was about to kiss her. . .

And then her old suit crashed through the roof and started chasing him. He dodged blasts of energy, then threw his hands up and destroyed the suit with a blast of his own. He turned and walked towards her, Danny's smile still on his face, but this time it was lit by the deadly glow from his hands. She backed away, but her back hit wall.

"Val, are you OK?" He asked, but she shoved him away from her.

"I hate you!" She screamed, and tears leaked from his eyes. They hit the ground and smashed through it, leaving craters that sucked him into blackness along with everything else. Valerie alone was left standing in the empty nothingness. She shuddered, unable to look away from where her feet rested on nothing at all. She curled up into a ball and shut her eyes. . .

Opening them again when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into the ice blue eyes of Danny Fenton.

"Val, I wanted to ask you something. . ." He said.

"Me first." She tried to say, but she couldn't say a thing. She knew what was coming. 'Will you go out with me?'.

But that wasn't the question he asked. "Do you hate Danny Phantom more than you like me?" Valerie sat, frozen. He waited for an answer she couldn't give. "Red?" He asked. "Red?"

Valerie's eyes opened and she stared into Danny Phantom's green ones, only this time she wasn't dreaming.

"C'mon, we're going to go prank Vlad." He said, then noticed her stare. "What?" He asked.

"Nothing. . ." She said, voice trailing off. He smiled a little and floated away, and she continued when she was sure he couldn't hear. ". . .I just never realized how much you look like Danny Fenton.

**BVQA:** Warning: the end of this story is slowly but surely coming. Brace yourself!


	21. Chapter 21

**BVQA:** Hey, chickens!

**Danny:** Chickens?

**BVQA:** Chickens.

**Danny:** Why chickens?

**BVQA:** Because people say peeps, and peeps are baby chickens, and people here are too grown up to be babies, so they're chickens!

**Danny:** Uh. . . I don't think that's how it works. . .

**BVQA:** Who cares? Oh, yeah, and one more thing:

THANK YOU, CASHASH13, FOR HELPING ME PLANT A SMART BOMB ON MY WRITER'S BLOCK!

Phantom handed a roll of duct tape to Valerie.

"Hold this." He said, then grabbed Youngblood's arm and spun him around so that his back was to him.

"What's going on?" Youngblood asked, trying in vain to look at his back. "Why me?"

"Because, Vlad can't see you." Phantom said, then yanked out a CD player and held his hand out to Valerie.

"Tape?" He asked. She ran her fingernail along the smooth surface until it caught on the edge of the end, and she pried it up. She tugged on it and pulled a length free about the span of her arms, and placed both hands right next to each other at the attached end, pulling in opposite directions. The duck tape ripped with a sound like wet velcro, and she passed the piece to Phantom. He wrapped both ends around the CD player and looped it several times around Youngblood's waist.

"Dani, fill him in." Danny said as he worked, and Dani complied, putting her mouth next to Youngblood's ear and muttering the details of the idea.

LINE BREAK

Vlad Masters rubbed his hair with a towel, closing his eyes and crossing his fingers. He'd washed his hair five times and he hoped the dye had finally washed out. He picked up a hand towel and rubbed at the condensation on the mirror, hoping he'd see white instead of pink.

He didn't.

Apparently, the little night terrors had used permanent hair dye. Great. Just great. Even he, Vlad Masters/Plasmius, might have trouble turning this to his advantage. _Perhaps,_ he mused, _I can say I'm attempting to show that I can be just as 'new wave' as the kids these days. That might reassure the voters. Yes. . . yes, I like that idea. It will prove that I'm trying to work with these kids, being indulgent while at the same time being a disciplinary figure, like. . . a second father. 'Vote for father Vlad. . . he'll protect you from big brother!' No, a bit over the top. . . just 'Vote for father Vlad'._

Happy with his plan, Vlad slipped on his bathrobe and stepped into his bedroom. His cat Maddy stared quizzically at his head. She meowed loudly and he scratched behind her ears.

"Yes, the little monsters did this. See, this is why I can't let you leave the room tonight. Heaven only knows what they'd do to _you_." He said. She settled her head down on her paws and leaned into his hand, purring. Vlad smiled. So what if Daniel had been the one to suggest getting a cat? Maddy was a perfect pet, lap-sized and fluffy with an odd, almost human intelligence. Plus, she was adorable.

Maddy's ears perked up and she lifted her head up, tilting it in a way that said she was listening hard. Vlad listened too, knowing that cats have more sensitive hearing. Sure enough, he couldn't hear anything.

Wait. . . he couldn't hear anything. . ?

For the past few hours, all he'd heard were screams of laughter and shouts of playful anger. The only times they'd stopped had been. . . when they pranked him. . .

_Oh, no._ Vlad thought, _I'm not falling for it this time. I'm going to stay right here with Maddy and not leave this room until the Eternal Slumber Party is OVER._

And then Vlad heard it. A single voice, calling out his name.

"Vlad? Vla-ad?"

It was Maddy, the _real_ Maddy, not Maddy the cat. The voice was faint, coming from somewhere in the house.

That's when Vlad remembered. The lounge had a truckload of child ghosts in it.

"Maddy!" He yelled. "Don't go into the lounge! There are ghosts in there!"

"What?" Came her distant voice. "There aren't any ghosts in. . . augh!"

"Maddy!" Vlad yelled. There was no answer. He stood, running to the door.

"I'll save you, Maddy!" Vlad yelled bursting into the lounge. All that greeted him was laughter and Vlad realized he'd been tricked again.

"Nice work, Youngblood." Giggled that insolent clone Danielle, slapping a high-five with someone Vlad couldn't see.

"I had to get right outside his door before he could hear the CD." Chuckled a voice coming from the place where Dani had high-fived. "Maybe he's getting old."

"And senile." Came from somewhere in the room.

"Well, the dipstick's definitely delusional." Ember said.

"And loopy!" Daniel threw in. "Really, really loopy."

Then it turned into an insult fest, with every ghost throwing slander this way and that.

"Jerk."

"Imbecile."

"World-ruler wannabe."

"Fruitloop."

"Fruitloop!"

The crowd started chanting. "Fruit-loop! Fruit-loop! Fruit-loop!"

Vlad glared. "You are in for a _world_ of pain! I will destroy you!"

He went on ranting for a few minutes until Daniel innocently said, "You realize this is going on Youtube, right?"

**BVQA:** Feel the love! Please review with truth-or-dares!


	22. Chapter 22

**BVQA:** Well, it's that time again!

**Danny:** Time to go through boundless torture at the hands of you?

**BVQA:** Yep! Special thanks to danifan3000!

"Truth or dare." Youngblood said, completely out of the blue.

"What?" Phantom asked. Youngblood grinned.

"Truth or dare."

"How do you even know about that? That's a big-kid game." Ember said. Youngblood grinned.

"Bones told me."

Valerie had no _clue_ what he was talking about, up until Phantom answered her unasked question with a question of his own.

"Bones? Your parrot slash horse?"

Youngblood nodded. "Slash dinosaur slash cat slash dog slash rat slash rabbit slash-"

"Ok, ok, we get the point, Youngblood! You name it, he is it." Phantom interrupted. "So how did he know about truth or dare?"

Youngblood smiled. "He's got more information than a set of encyclopedias. I just asked him about slumber parties and he talked my ears off for about five days."

Dani grinned. "Truth or dare it is! I've never played that before. . ."

Valerie's eyes widened. If she played by the rules, they could ask her what her secret identity was. This did not bode well. She was going to have to do something about this. . .

"Ok, but we're going to need some rules." She said. There were collective groans. "Rule one: the dares cannot be life, or _afterlife_, endangering. Rule 2: No dares like 'take your huntress mask off', and no truths like 'what's your secret identity'."

"Aw, cmon. . ." Youngblood whined. "Why do you get to make up the rules?"

"Because she's _older_ than you." Phantom snapped. "Plus, I agree with her. No secret-identity revealing questions."

"Humph." Youngblood muttered, crossing his arms. Dani patted him on the head.

"Oh! Pick me! I wanna go first!" Yelled a ghost towards the back. All Valerie could see of them was a waving arm, since the ghost was positioned directly behind a pile of sleeping bags.

"Ok. . ?" Ember asked. "And you are. . ?"

"Danifan3000." The ghost said. Both Phantoms gaped in the general direction of the ghost.

"What?" They said in perfect unison.

"Uh. . . I mean. . . Alias. Yep, Alias, that's what I said! Why on earth would I say something odd like Danifan3000, heh. . ."

Valerie and Phantom exchanged looks. Then Valerie noticed that Dani and Youngblood were exchanging identical looks. Valerie blushed, glad that no one could tell through the red-tinted mask she was wearing. What this meant about her and Phantom, she didn't want to know. . .

'Alias' continued talking. "Uh, I've got several things, actually. . ."

Valerie scowled. "Just don't ask _everybody_ since we don't want to be here for a week."

"Ok!" Alias said, and began the long list. "Dani! Truth or dare!?"

Dani blinked. "Uh. . . truth?"

You could just _hear_ the smirk in Alias's voice. "Tell everyone how you were born."

Dani _could not_ say dare fast enough. Valerie leaned over to her and whispered, "Are you sure? Now you _have_ to do the dare."

"I'm sure. Trust me, you _don't_ want to know." Dani whispered back.

"Ok, then. Dare it is!" Alias said. "Go find a pink frilly dress and wear it for the rest of the party. If you can't find one, get the fruitloop to buy one for ya! Oh, and wear your hair down instead of in a ponytail!"

Dani face-palmed.

LINE BREAK

Dani stared at the floor, unsure of how to sit down in the dress she was wearing. Two huge dark pink puffy sleeves poofed out from a lacy, light pink v-neck bodice. The skirt part of the dress was bleeding lace and ribbons, and she looked an awful lot like a bride dipped in pink dye. Her hair was not only down, but curled in little ringlets that framed her cute little face that had an expression on it that said, 'I am going to strangle someone with this cute little lacy ribbon someone put around my waist'.

Phantom looked like he was about to shoot someone.

"What on earth are you _wearing?_"

Dani scowled. "Trust me, I'm not happy with it either. It itches like heck, and I can't figure out how to sit down without ripping something."

"Two part dare!" Called Alias. "Since you can't figure out how to sit on the ground, sit on Youngblood's lap!"

Phantom glared in Alias's general direction. "The _second_ this truce is over, you are going _down_."

"I know!" Rang Alias's cheerful voice. "But we didn't even get to you yet! Truth or dare?"

Phantom gritted his teeth. "Truth." He muttered, determined not to fall into the same trap as Dani. Dani, who was now lowering herself into Youngblood's lap. Youngblood was face-palming. Dani smiled at him.

"This is embarrassing." She muttered.

"Your original is going to _kill_ me, if that's even _possible_." Youngblood muttered right back.

"You know what Vlad did when I asked for a pink dress? He went through a magazine list of pink, frilly dresses until he found the one that I nearly barfed after seeing, then ordered his hairstylists to attack me!" She muttered. "I really hate that guy. . ."

Alias asked Phantom his question. "Do you see Dani as a cousin, a sister, or a daughter?" He breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently an easy question.

"Sister. She's a little sister."

"An _adorable_ little sister." Alias said.

"An adorable little sister." Phantom agreed.

"An adorable little sister in a pink dress." Alias added.

"An adorable little sister in a pink. . . I hate you." Phantom said, stopping himself from repeating Alias again and sending a glare in the direction of the sleeping bags.

"Great! Ember's turn!" Alias said. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare." Ember answered.

"Kiss Danny!" Alias said enthusiastically. Ember turned even paler than normal.

"Truth!" She snapped.

"Aw, you're no fun." Alias said, pouting. "Alright then, what's the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?"

Ember planted her face in the carpet. "Oh, you are _so_ asking for it. . ." Came her muffled voice. "Fine, I'll tell you. Uh. . . Youngblood made a nature documentary about 'the fire-headed sirens of the far north' when the dipstick stuck me in the icelands with Klemper. The footage of me running from him screaming obscenities would have been embarrassing without the commentary about 'mating calls'."

Youngblood nodded, grinning. "Some of my finest work. I still have that tape somewhere."

"Youngblood! Your turn!" Alias called. Youngblood flinched.

"Look, was this game _my_ idea?" he asked.

"Yep! Truth or dare!?"

"Uh. . . truth?" Youngblood said weakly.

"How do you think Dani looks in a pink dress?" Alias asked.

Youngblood closed his eyes. "Oh, somebody shoot me. . ." He muttered.

"With pleasure." Phantom said. "Just you wait until this truce is over. . ."

Youngblood sighed. "Well, she's really. . . cute and. . . uh, beautiful, actually but. . . I think she looks better in the jumpsuit. Pink is kinda. . . girly, I guess. . . and she's more. . . uh. . . I think I'm going to shut up now." Cheeks burning, Youngblood gently pushed Dani off his lap and walked out of the room, steps threatening to become sprints.

There was a moment of silence.

"I'm. . . gonna go get him. . ." Dani whispered, and ran out after him.

"Alright, that's it. . !" Phantom practically growled, then raced over to the pile of sleeping bags and pushed it over. Behind it. . . there was nothing.

"Something odd's going on here. . ." Valerie muttered, and then from behind her a voice called out:

"Hey, Phantom! Truth or dare?"


	23. Chapter 23

**BVQA:** Alright, everyone, listen up! This is IMPORTANT! Today, I'm going to do something never before attempted by a fanfiction writer!

**Youngblood:** A bath?

**BVQA:** *sarcasm* Oh ho, funny. . . I'll keep that in mind while I'm writing my chapter!

**Youngblood:** I'm sorry, my queen!

**BVQA:** Good! Anyway, here it is: I do NOT want ANY of you guys to review!

**Youngblood:** Say what?!

**BVQA:** Yes, you heard me! NO REVIEWS!

**Youngblood:** You've really gone off your rocker THIS time, huh?

**BVQA:** Quite possibly! ON TO THE SHOW!

**Youngblood:** Run! She's finally lost what small piece of sanity she had left!

Phantom spun around, completely on edge. He relaxed slightly when he saw whoever was behind Valerie- but only slightly. Valerie turned slowly and saw a perfectly normal-looking ghost. . . well, perfectly normal compared to some other ghosts she'd seen tonight. A seven-year old sat with her legs crossed, hands clasped adorably in front of her. Large, innocent (yeah, right) green eyes peeked out from behind glossy midnight-blue hair. A tiny, white, slightly glowing crescent moon clip held her hair back on the left side. A dark blue dress that matched her hair flowed freely, except for the purple bow that clung tightly to her waist and poofed on her back.

She giggled.

"Gosh, was I THAT scary?" She asked, giggling some more. Phantom glared. The girl giggled even harder. Valerie wondered exactly what was wrong with this girl's laugh track.

"And you are?" Valerie asked. The girl smiled an adorable smile that wasn't fooling anyone.

"Skye. Or Skylar. My friends call me Skye." Skylar giggled, even though Valerie didn't get the joke.

"So I can call you. . . Skye?" Valerie asked, in the tone of voice that she used when talking to her younger cousins.

Skye stuck her tongue out at Valerie. "I'm not a _baby_, so you don't have to talk like that. Anyway, Danny didn't answer my question yet! Truth or dare!?"

Phantom hesitated. "Uh. . . dare?" He finally said, probably wondering how much trouble this little kid could cause for him. Probably a lot.

"Yay!" Skye said, giggling some more. When she'd finally collected herself enough to speak, she said her dare in a proud voice. "I dare you to call the Fentons. Jack to be specific, and tell him you are going to _steal his fudge_."

Valerie supposed that if she'd even seen Phantom terrified, then he was terrified now.

BEWARE MY LINE BREAK!

The phone let out half a ring before Phantom said, "Well, guess they aren't home!" And made as if to hang up the phone. Skye immediately grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"Danny. . . it's one in the morning. Where else would they be?" She asked, then giggled as if the sentence had been hilarious. Valerie was starting to see a pattern here. . .

Phantom gripped the phone so tightly his knuckles turned white. Then, the unthinkable happened. . .

The phone picked up with a loud 'click' and Jack Fenton's voice echoed down the line.

"Hello?"

Phantom gulped. Then, in a shaky voice, said: "Uh. . . this is. . . Danny Phantom and. . ."

Phantom glanced around as if looking for a button labeled 'escape hatch' and then slowly continued. "And. . . I'm going to steal your fudge."

The affect was instantaneous.

Phantom dropped the phone to cover his ears as a scream of fear and utter fury came out of it. Valerie quickly tapped a switch in her suit's glove that put the world on mute and elevator music came on, contrasting strongly with the scene around her. Phantom's eye twitched and several of the younger ghosts screamed, although Valerie couldn't hear them. Skye stared for a few moments, then casually stepped to the side of the room and hid under the couch. The phone vibrated from all the noise leaking out, and suddenly, without warning. . .

The phone blew up.

The assembled ghosts peeked out from their various hiding places at the smoking lump of metal in the center of the room. Phantom began saying something and Valerie flicked off the mute.

"-glad Youngblood wasn't in the room. That would have taught him some new words. . . actually, that taught _me_ some new words. . ."

Skye crawled out from under the couch.

"I am going to _hurl_." She said. "That was the most vivid description of carnage I have _ever_ heard in my _afterlife_."

Phantom looked over, pale and slightly shaking. "_You're_ going to hurl? That was directed at _me_. Imagine how _I _feel."

At this point the door opened to reveal Dani and Youngblood, holding hands, and staring at the devastated crowd of ghosts before them.

". . .what happened in here?" Youngblood asked. Phantom looked up at him.

"You do _not_ want to know." He said.

**BVQA:** Yes. . . it's short. . . but this is the best I could do, ok? Give a big hand to GhostGirl36, AKA Skye!

**Youngblood:** . . .I missed it.

**BVQA:** Duh. I only told people not to review because I knew it would make you run off, and I wouldn't be responsible for teaching you new words. Please review!


	24. Chapter 24

**BVQA:** Uh. . . yeah. . . sorry for not updating in. . . uh. . . forever?

**Youngblood, Dani, Ember, Danny, several assorted OCs, and Valerie:** WHY DIDN'T YOU WRITE MORE, YOU LAZY WITCH?!

**BVQA:** SORRY! I'M SO SORRY!

Valerie stretched and flopped facedown on a pile of pillows someone had dumped on the floor. She raised her eyes just above the edge of the pillow and almost jumped back screaming. Someone was staring back at her curiously.

The ghost girl smiled sheepishly at Valerie. Their skin was the same color, but where Valerie had black hair the girl had tangled dark brown locks. Stripes of fur dotted the girls arms and legs in a green and black pattern, and her fingernails were filed into points. A necklace covered in silver dog tags contrasted with her ripped jean shorts and her muddy T-shirt with red-brown paw-prints on it. Brown eyes with flecks of green and black gazed up at Valerie behind dark, thick eyelashes, and the girl's posture seemed slightly. . . off. It took a moment for Valerie to realize what she was missing, but then something in her brain- or was it her suit's memory chip?- went _click_ and Valerie suddenly got it. The girl had her hands on the floor, back slightly arched, with her knees bent upwards, otherwise known as the classic pose for a domestic- or _non_-domestic- canine.

"Hi. I'm Ally." Ally said. "Truth or dare?"

"Uh. . ." Valerie said. She'd seen what strange dares these ghosts could concoct and she really, really didn't want to suffer some more. But after a few moments, Ally giggled and shook her hair back like a wet dog often does.

"I'm just kidding! Actually, I had a suggestion for you and Dani." Ally glanced back and forth in a swift, fluid sweep before circling around and curling up, hands under her chin, and continued. "But I can't find Dani yet- Danny-with-a-y is too busy glaring at her- so I figured that I'd talk to you first."

Ally pushed herself up on all fours and whispered her idea in Valerie's ear. Then she sat up, scratched behind her ear, and padded off to go find Dani-with-an-i.

"Hey! Phantom!" Valerie yelled. Phantom turned her way and called back.

"Yeah?"

Valerie smirked. "Truth or dare?"

Phantom sighed in annoyance but walked over and plopped down next to Valerie. "Truth." He said, dread in his voice.

"What was your life like before you became a ghost?" Valerie asked. Danny hesitated, then seemed to decide that he had to abide by the code of the children and answer.

"Well, I went to Casper high, and-"

"_You_ went to _Casper high_?" Valerie interrupted him. Phantom smiled in a friendly way and continued.

"Yeah. I think everyone in Amity park has been there at some point or other. According to some older ghosts, it's been there a looong time. 'Corse, I'm not _that_ old. . . a few months, I guess. . . I wasn't really keeping track."

Valerie smiled. "Did you have Lancer for a teacher?"

Phantom laughed. "Yeah, actually. Has that guy _ever_ had hair?"

A passing ghost entered the conversation briefly with a hurried, "No, he hasn't."

Phantom continued laughing and Valerie joined in. It was weird how much she had in common with Phantom, now that she wasn't shooting at him and he wasn't running away from her. She wasn't planning on making it a habit or anything, but maybe if they were both still around next year there would be another slumber party and they could hang out again.

There was a loud yell from the other side of the room, belonging to Ember.

"You can't _do_ that!" She shrieked. Dani, who was sitting next to her, was grinning ear to ear along with Youngblood.

"Yes I can! So say the rules of the kids!"

Ember flushed angrily and pulled a blue and purple flaming phone from inside her guitar.

"Why would she have a phone in there?" Valerie wondered out loud, but Phantom just shrugged.

"Why do I have a thermos that traps ghosts? Why is Vlad a fruitloop? It's one of those things that you cannot question, but just _is_."

Phantom managed a straight face for about two seconds before laughing and saying, "I don't know either, kay?"

LINE BREAK

(I have a question. Why on earth are you people still _reading_ this?)

Skulker glanced down at his arm. It was ringing. He sighed and tapped a few buttons on the keypad, already knowing what was coming. The Eternal Slumber Party was tonight, and although Ember had squeaked by into the 'child' category, Skulker had had no such luck. Thus, the inevitable prank call was on it's way.

"Hello?" He asked, all enthusiasm drained from his voice.

"Hi. Is your suit's thermo-magnetic coil running?" Of corse, it was Ember's voice. Skulker wanted to facepalm.

"Yes. . ." He said.

"Good." Came the reply, and then there was a click as the phone on the other end hung up.

LINE BREAK

"What was that?!" Dani asked Ember. Valerie nodded in agreement.

"That was the lamest attempt at a prank call I've ever seen in my whole entire life." Valerie chimed in.

"Shut up." Ember told her. "After I get my revenge on the kid, you're next." Ember smirked at Dani. "I dare you to shave all Maddy's fur off."

"No fair!" Dani shouted. "You need to ask me 'truth or dare' first!"

Ember glared. "I. Will. Set. Your. Head. On. Fire."

Dani smiled pleasantly.

"Anyone know where the shears are? I have a cat to shave."

**BVQA:** Sadly, the next chapter will be the last one. Thank you to all my reviewers for sticking with my ridiculousness. Special thanks to aslan333, CashAsh13, and Pheek, AKA Ally.

**ALL CHARACTERS EXCEPT VLAD:** NOO! IT'S ALMOST OVER!

**VLAD:** It's almost over! Finally!


	25. Chapter 25

**BVQA:** Yes, this is the last chapter. . . enjoy!

Valerie yawned, then immediately tried to hide that fact. She had no desire for Dani and Youngblood to throw another bucket of water into her face.

"Hey! Red!" Ember shouted at Valerie, a smirk on her purple lips. "I told you you were next on my list of revenge! Truth or dare?"

Valerie hesitated. "Oh. . . look over there. . . a wall. . ." She said. Ember huffed.

"Ok, fine. The dipstick gets it first." She declared. Phantom turned white.

"Oh no. . ." He whimpered.

"Truth or dare?" Ember asked. Phantom spun around and focused on the wall that Valerie was currently making sure it _looked_ like she was watching while she was _really_ watching everyone _else_ watching _her_. Phantom apparently didn't notice her watching him out of the corner of her eye, though.

"Oh look. . . a wall. . ." He said.

"That's _my_ wall!" Valerie said. "Get your own wall!"

Phantom crossed his arms. "But I want _that_ one."

Valerie stuck her tongue out at him. "Tough. My wall."

"Are you two _seriously _fighting over this?" Ember asked incredulously.

"Yes!" Valerie and Phantom said at the exact same time. Valerie stifled a laugh. Phantom looked adorable when he was angry.

_Oh no, I did _not_ just think that_. Valerie thought. It was true, though. Phantom's silvery hair reflected the green glow of his eyes back across his face, outlining the pout on his lips and the sharp angle of his nose in neon. Then his eyes dulled back down to normal and he brushed his hair out of his eyes with a sharp, angry sweep of his hand.

"Fine." He said. "Truth, I guess."

_Weird._ Valerie thought. _He doesn't stay mad very long, considering he's a ghost. He's kinda like Danny Fenton in that regard: Danny could never keep a grudge. Well, except for Vlad Masters, but he was constantly hitting on Danny's mom. . ._

Ember smirked. "Do you like Red? Not the wimpy kind of like, _like_ like."

Phantom actually flinched, gloved hands closing into fists against the carpet.

"Dare." He said. Ember's smile didn't drop.

"Ok, I _dare_ you to tell the truth about whether or not you _like_ like Red."

Phantom crossed his arms. "That isn't _fair_, Ember." He said flatly. "You can't _dare_ someone to tell the truth about something. That's why the game is called truth _or_ dare."

Ember laughed. "Why are you so scared of answering the question, Phantom?"

Valerie groaned on the inside. She knew what this meant. Phantom obviously didn't like her and didn't want to say so. Perfect. She fell for a ghost and he didn't like her back. What had she expected, really?

"I'll leave." She said, and blew through the door, hoping the mask hid her watering eyes. Valerie had been to the mansion a few times before, so she just let her feet carry her up the stairs and around corners until she was standing up on the widow's that Vlad had decided his mansion needed for some odd reason.

"Fun game. . ." Valerie muttered, then pulled off her mask to get some air. Inside her suit it had started to get hot and stuffy, and the cool night air washed over her like a wakeup call. What on earth was she thinking? What did she even _see_ in Phantom? He was a _ghost_, and she had sworn to get rid of all of them.

_Guess that makes you a really huge hypocrite, then._ She found herself thinking. _I mean, you let him go. . . not just once but twice. First after the Skulker thing, second after the Dani thing._

_ Yeah, and then he went and ruined the first truce by frying my suit when I could have been in it and kidnapping the mayor and stuff like that!_

_ . . .but the second truce he didn't do anything to ruin. He's been a complete gentleman the whole night._

_ I hate him!_

_ . . .and I can't bear to think of him hating me._

Valerie punched the ground. Her suit absorbed the shock, robbing her of the joy of distracting herself from her current thoughts with a blow to her hand. She then used said hand to attempt to smack herself in the forehead- maybe knock her lovey-dovey thoughts out of her cranium- but her hand covered itself in a padded glove that did no damage whatsoever.

"Stupid suit. . ." She muttered. "Won't even let me damage my brain cells. . ."

Valerie stared up into the sky, watching the stars and remembering sitting on top of the fairs wheel with Danny Fenton. She was having trouble picturing his face, since it kept melting into Phantom's. Somewhere below her, there were screams of laughter and loud, pulsing music. For some reason, she couldn't picture the music as being part of her world right now, just like she couldn't picture Danny's face.

Voices leaked out of the house.

_"_Why did you do _that_, you little-"

"Run! Run! Vlad's really flipped his lid this time!"

"I know you had to shave Maddy, but did you have to paint her green too?"

"Less talking, more running!"

Valerie winced as she remembered Phantom saying something similar when they'd been kidnapped by Skulker.

_Less freaking, more running!_

Phantom always seemed to have a situation under control in his head, like 'oh, you have booby traps and swords! Well, I have. . . well. . . nothing, but I can fake it!' It was that confidence that Valerie liked, as well as the utter cluelessness that he was strong enough to not have to fake it in the first place. Sometimes he seemed so. . . _shy_. . .

"Hey, Val." Came Phantom's voice from behind her.

"Hey yourself, Danny." She replied. She felt rather than heard Phantom's footsteps as he came closer and out of the corner of her eye saw him sit down beside her.

"You called me Danny." He said.

"Did I? I guess I did." Valerie replied. She didn't look away from the sky.

"You never call me Danny." Phantom explained to her.

"I guess I don't." Valerie agreed. Was that all he'd come up to tell her? She didn't call him Danny? Valerie turned to him and glared.

"Danny, if you're going to tell me something can you do it this year?"

Phantom blushed. "Sorry. . ." He said. "I. . . well, I really. . . I really like you. . ." He began. Valerie's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't look at him.

"I mean, _like_ like, not like, and I know you don't feel the same way about me and-"

Valerie cut Danny off by kissing him. A few seconds after she started she stopped, resting her forehead against his.

"You were talking too much." She explained.

"What'll you do if I start talking again?" Danny asked. "Will you roll your eyes or just-"

Valerie decided to make him shut up again. Her eyes were closed, but she saw and felt a flash of warm, white light pass over her. When she opened her eyes again, Danny Fenton's ones stared back at her.

"I guess this explains some stuff, huh?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously and looking away. Valerie laughed quietly at first, then louder, and then erupted into manic giggling. Danny looked over at her with something akin to alarm in his eyes. The alarm turned to panic when Valerie lost it so much that she fell sideways into his lap, shuddering violently and banging one of her fists against the ground. She shut her eyes for a moment and let the cool night air help her relax and, finally, for the first time that night, really let her guard down.

Danny, on the other hand, could not possibly be any further from relaxed "Um. . . Val? Are. . . you ok?" He asked cautiously. She wiped tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, then gazed upwards into Danny's now-human face.

"Hah. . . hah. . ." She chuckled, then reached up with one gloved hand. Danny flinched, probably wondering if she was going to try and shoot him, but didn't try to run as she ran her fingers through his shaggy jet-black hair. "Sorry." She said quietly. "I shouldn't be laughing. It's just. . . I was just thinking how I was going to break it to you. . . well, Fenton you. . . that I couldn't go out with him because I liked Danny Phantom just as much as I liked him."

Danny blinked, considering the statement, then a slow, warm smile curved over his face. . . the same smile that Valerie had fallen for on _both_ his faces, ghost as well as human. "So. . . that means. . . you forgive me for keeping it a secret? You don't hate me?"

Valerie couldn't even find it in her to frown, but as she sat up she punched his shoulder lightly. "You still should have told me earlier. We could have avoided all this stupid tiptoeing around each others secret identity, and I wouldn't have shot at you." Valerie paused. "Well, _maybe_ I'd still have shot at you, but at least then I'd wait until you deserved it. Like if you ever forgot a date or something, like the one we are totally going on after school on Monday."

Danny's smile widened. "Are you asking me out?"

"Only if you don't want to get shot at."

"Hmm. . ." Danny put on a fake-thoughtful expression. "It's a tough choice. Get blasted a few dozen times, or go out on a date with the funniest, nicest, bravest, most beautiful girl I've ever met. . ."

"You forgot best kisser." Valerie said with a smirk, and she started to lean in closer to Danny. . .

"Finally!" Came Youngblood's voice behind them, spoiling the moment. Valerie and Danny turned, blushing, towards him and saw Dani floating there too. "Now that you two have hooked up, I guess we can tell you that your friends are going out with-"

Dani clamped a hand over his mouth and gave her best I'm-capable-of-no-wrong face. "Nobody. We don't know who Sam and tucker are going out with, _certainly_ not anyone you know. . ."

Danny was up in an instant, chasing after Youngblood and Dani as they tried to flee.

"Who're they going out with? Tell me!"

Valerie hid her smile as she slipped her mask back on and jumped up on her board and followed them. Things were going to be much more interesting from now on. . .

**The End.**


End file.
